Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that he is still in the dark over Adam Forshaw’s injury situation, with the midfielder facing an uncertain spell on the sidelines.
Forshaw has not featured for the club since coming off at half-time in our 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic in September, when he suffered an aggravation of an earlier hip injury and could not participate for any longer at the Valley.
The Liverpool-born midfielder had started each of our opening six league games, but was forced to sit out our Yorkshire Derby with Barnsley in September and the following encounter with Derby County at Elland Road due to suffering a problem with his hip.
Forshaw’s wait to lace up his boots again has already been a lengthy one, and the £4.5million-rated 28-year-old is due to wait a while longer yet.
“He is not available yet,” Bielsa stated at his pre-Middlesbrough press conference on Thursday, via quotes by Leeds Live. “I cannot say when he is going to be healthy.
“It is a process where we can track him weekly, and at the moment, we do not have more information about that [a return date].”
The boss had further bad news to share with the assembled press on Thursday, as he added that Tyler Roberts will miss Saturday’s clash with Boro.
Roberts had started our last four Championship games having made five outings from the bench prior to the November international break, but was taken off after just 35 minutes at Reading on Tuesday night as he felt something in his muscle and could not continue.
The issue is not believed to be a serious one, but the 20-year-old is unlikely to have regained his fitness in time for Saturday’s game.
“He [Roberts] is making some progress, but cannot play this weekend,” Bielsa said. “I don’t have accurate information about that [what the exact issue is].
“I know the medical staff are analysing it and he cannot play on Saturday.”
Bielsa did have some good news to share at his press conference, though, as the Argentine was able to welcome Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah back to training on Thursday having been without the England U21 striker since we were held to a draw with Sheffield Wednesday in October through an abdominal problem.
“He has trained well, [and] probably tomorrow he is going to play a part in the Under 23s game.” the boss added. “Maybe he needs a while [to regain his fitness], but I am not sure [if he can play at the weekend].”
Should Nketiah feature vs Boro on Saturday?
Yes, absolutely
Only if we are behind
Don't take the risk
Nketiah had made ten appearances in the Championship and scored three goals, all from the bench, before suffering his abdominal issue in October, resulting in the 20-year-old missing our last four matches.