Daniel Farke hails return of ‘Leeds United legend’ but reveals double forward blow

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is delighted to have “Leeds legend” Stuart Dallas back in team training but admits it will be a number of weeks before the Northern Ireland international can be considered for first-team action.

Dallas has been sidelined with a serious leg injury since April 2022 when he was stretchered off during a Premier League defeat to Manchester City at Elland Road.

The versatile defender was pictured in training on Thursday and Farke is pleased for Dallas as much as anyone about the star’s return.

He said ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash with Watford: “First of all I am really delighted because it was a tough road for him through all this. I am sure there were darker moments for him because it is tough when you can’t do what you love, play football.

“It is great to see him back in team training at least and it was big parts of team training yesterday (Thursday). Also the group was delighted, each and every player was outside to give him a warm welcome. It is a big boost for the group, he is a great lad not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well. He is a quality player with lots of experience, he is a very important.

“He is a very important player, I always like to speak and talk with him. He is a Leeds legend because he has done so much for this club.

“To be honest, it will last a while before he is available. He was out for such a long time and normally you have this rule that you are only back to top fitness once you have trained for as long as you were out. I am hoping it will not last that long but it will definitely be a few weeks until he is fully in my plans and available. But it’s a pretty important step and I am glad for him.”

Farke did deliver bad news regarding forward Willy Gnonto who was forced off after just 21 minutes against Hull City.

He added: “Sadly bad news with him as he has done his lateral ankle ligament. We need to wait for the assessment on him to see how long he will be out but he will not be available tomorrow.”

Patrick Bamford is another forward who will be unavailable on Saturday afternoon, Farke confirmed. The striker returned to team training last week after eight weeks out but the Leeds manager is keen to tread carefully before reintroducing the former Middlesbrough man.

On Bamford, he said: “He is not fully fit because he was out for eight weeks and he is just back in team training. We will still be careful with him.

“I think next week will be beneficial for him as we have a week to train and then he will be back in the mix. A fit Patrick Bamford is priceless. He had some pretty impressive games during pre-season but the most important thing for him is that he is fit.”