'He works tirelessly' - Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa's tribute to Adam Forshaw in battle to end injury nightmare

The Leeds United midfielder remains locked in his battle to return from what is becoming the lengthiest of layoffs, having had surgery in February 2020 for a hip problem he aggravated in the September 2019 game at Charlton Athletic.

Bielsa has now been without the man who began last season in such good form, bringing an element of control to the frenetic chaos of Bielsaball, for a total of 63 consecutive league games.

His skillset as a player with defensive and offensive ability would have come in extremely useful this season when injuries cropped up for defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

At times the middle of the park has proven problematic for the Whites in their Premier League return.

Chiefly, however, a return for Forshaw would be good news for the player himself and everyone associated with Leeds, his team-mates and family who have been supporting him and willing him back to fitness.

The latest news is that the former Middlesbrough man is still giving his all to come back and play for Leeds.

And while he's in what Bielsa calls a 'positive moment' the head coach warns that what he needs in order to complete a comeback is a prolonged period without any of the setbacks that have befallen the 29-year-old over the past nightmarish 17 months.

"I couldn't assure you," said Bielsa on the prospect of good news regarding Forshaw.

"He has been absent for a long time now, he is in a positive moment in his recovery but that positive moment has to be extended for a while longer without any setbacks for this to allow to him to return to competitive football, what is true is that he works tirelessly and continually and makes the maximum efforts to come back and play."