On Saturday lunchtime, Leeds United make the long trip to Plymouth Argyle once again, looking to continue a seven-game Championship winning streak that has seen them leapfrog Southampton and climb into one of the automatic promotion places.
Plymouth are down in 15th place in the table but made life difficult for Leeds in the FA Cup fourth round, forcing a replay by earning a 1-1 draw at Elland Road. Leeds would ultimately win 4-1 at Home Park, but the scoreline was somewhat deceiving because they required extra time to get the job done.
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Heading into the game, manager Daniel Farke has been monitoring some injury concerns in his squad. Striker Patrick Bamford was initially named in the starting line-up for the midweek trip to Swansea, but Joel Piroe had to replace him at the last minute after he sustained an issue in the warm-up. Speaking after the game, Farke said the player was optimistic that the issue wasn't "too bad", but confirmed that he would undergo specialist examination to determine whether he'd damaged any ankle ligaments.
Elsewhere, Sam Byram missed the game altogether after picking up a muscle injury in the win over Rotherham 3-0. Byram, who was enjoying an "outstanding" season in the words of his manager, was also due to undergo checks.
Bamford and Byram out vs Plymouth
Reporting from Farke's pre-Plymouth press conference, BBC Sport's Adam Pope says that Bamford will be out of action for up to 12 days, while Byram has also been ruled out of the next two.
After playing Plymouth, Leeds face a key game against table-toppers Leicester City next Friday and then head to Chelsea for the FA Cup fifth round on 28 February.
In more positive news, Jamie Shackleton is back available, and Pascal Struijk could ramp up his involvement in training if the results of scans next week are positive. Goalkeeper Karl Darlow, meanwhile, is closing in on rejoining the first-team sessions.
Mixed emotions on Bamford
Leeds were probably particularly nervous about Bamford's injury fate given his track record. As you can see in the table below, the £40k-per-week man has missed 68 games and 437 days with various issues since the 2018/19 season, including an ankle problem that kept him out for nearly six weeks.
Season
Injury
Days missed
Matches missed
18/19
Anterior cruciate ligament
91
20
18/19
Knee
40
8
21/22
Ankle
71
14
21/22
Hamstring
83
12
21/22
Foot
96
9
22/23
Groin
56
5
In that sense, it's a relief that he should be back within a maximum of three games, but it's still a blow in the sense that he'd been in excellent form, scoring four goals and providing an assist in his last six games.
The Englishman hadn't started a league game all season before that stretch, but seemed to be back in peak condition as Farke picked him in the XI for six straight matches.
