Daniel Farke facing Leeds United problem recurrence as Championship rivals offer stark perspective

The last international break of the year was always going to play merry hell with Farke's training plans, depriving him of a double figure tally of first team squad players and risking their fitness in various games around Europe. And even with the international fixture list complete, the break has continued to meddle with Leeds, its long fingers reaching deep into the week to poke and pry at the German's squad. The Welsh contingent of Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Daniel James were due to return on Wednesday, along with Willy Gnonto, fresh - or hopefully fresh - from Italy Under 21 duty. Playing 90 minutes on Tuesday night has ruled Rodon, Ampadu and Gnonto out of team training involvement prior to Friday night.

"You wait and hope they come back without any problems," said Farke on Wednesday. "There will be some late calls about availability for this game. The first game back is always a bit tricky and if it's on a Friday even a bit more. We have to adapt to the situation. There are players who can't train at all. Players who had many minutes yesterday, like the Welsh players and Willy Gnonto, they will be with us tomorrow but they will just be able to an individual recovery session otherwise I couldn't pick them. Joe, Ethan or Willy I can't send them into a normal team session, it's not possible. A few will head into the game without a team session."

Farke went on record after the win over Plymouth Argyle with his distaste for a Friday night return following an international break and the sight of Georginio Rutter walking a little gingerly back through the doors of Thorp Arch hardly soothed the manager's chagrin. Inclusion in Theirry Henry's France Under 21 squad, ending a year in the international wilderness, has left Rutter with an abdominal problem, another one. Rutter came off the pitch at Tynecastle in pre-season holding his side and duly missed the first Championship game of the season, but since then has been almost ever-present, starting 14 of the 15 subsequent outings. And what Rutter has contributed in those games is what marks his latest injury as a real problem for Leeds, because besides the three goals and five assists to his name the attacker has been a chance creation machine. The 15 big chances he has made for team-mates is more than double that of his nearest challenger in the Championship - Leicester City's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

"Georgio Rutter is a big doubt, he has an abdominal strain, came back injured and couldn't be in team training yet," said Farke. "He's a major doubt. So far he was not able to train with us. We have the last test tomorrow in training."

Should Rutter's body not pass muster then Farke may have to turn to Patrick Bamford to lead the line and take the next step in his own rehabilitation from an injury-stricken two-season period. Bamford is yet to start or score this season and his 99 minutes of league action show just how far Leeds have come from reliance on the man holding the number nine shirt. Farke, apparently, would not be deterred from calling upon Bamford though.

"Yes in general it's always when a player is not available, a chance for others to shine," he said. "It will be a late decision on Georgi, I don't speak too much on the starting line-up but I trust all my players and I appreciate Patrick and his experience. He has proved already on this level how important he can be, it's good to have him back several weeks in training. He trained on a really good level, I would have no problems [starting him]."

That, and Farke's other problems, like how much he has to rely on the just-back-in-training quintet of Sam Byram, Pascal Struijk, Joe Gelhardt, Jamie Shackleton and Djed Spence or how much he can rely on his returning internationals, are all problems that Rotherham would swap for their own, in a heartbeat.

The Millers are third from bottom of the table having shipped more goals than anyone but Norwich and scored just 15 of their own in 16 games. They have one win in 11 outings and they are the only club to fall victim to bottom side Sheffield Wednesday's so far this season. And they have no manager. The likeable but luckless Matt Taylor was sacked on November 13 after a 5-0 thrashing by Watford and is yet to be replaced. Injuries did for Taylor, who had no fit centre-backs capable of finishing 90 minutes in his final games and had to rely on midfielder Hakeem Odoffin or full-back Cohen Bramall. Assistant boss Wayne Carlisle has taken charge of training this week, alongside coaches Scott Brown and Dan Green, and is expected to steer the side through the game against Leeds. No matter who comes in after that, this season will be more parts toil than joy because that's just how it tends to be at the New York Stadium. Since the 2016/17 season Rotherham have yo-yo'd up and down, trading relegation for promotion and so on and so forth until last season, at least, they stayed up – just. Any new manager will have to contend with that trend to keep them in the Championship again and though owner Tony Stewart has been credited for the club's financial stability, there is no hiding from the fact that their resources are dwarfed by Premier League parachutists like Leeds.

So while Farke had to surrender far more players to various national teams than Friday's hosts and though the potential loss of Rutter is a blow, it's still Leeds United versus Rotherham United. It’s still a promotion hopeful against a relegation candidate. It’s still a team flying high against one in the doldrums, one with a clear plan and a credible leader against one in a state of flux. It’s a glimpse into how the other half live.