Jesse Marsch issues double Leeds United fitness update on first team duo before Australia trip

Ayling had knee surgery at the end of May to address a long standing issue and Whites head coach Marsch has reported that the defender is ahead of schedule in his recovery.

The Whites star was expected to be back in training in the Autumn but Marsch says there is now a possibility that the 30-year-old could be back as soon as next month.

The defender is still expected to miss the start of the season which begins on Saturday, August 6 with a home clash against Wolves in United's third season back in the Premier League.

Leeds took in their summer's first pre-season friendly in front of fans on Thursday evening when beating Blackpool 4-0 at York City as Marsch deployed a mixture of senior players and youngsters.

United's internationals who only returned on Monday were not involved but Whites no 9 Bamford was another player to miss out despite having returned the previous week.

Marsch, though, has delivered a positive update on the condition of the Whites striker who featured in last weekend's behind closed doors friendly against Stoke City in his first game back since recovering from last season's injury troubles.

As part of a campaign already disrupted by ankle, hamstring and hip injuries, Bamford ruptured his plantar fascia in the early stages of the 3-2 win at Wolves in March but the striker was set to return for the season finale at Brentford until being hit by Covid-19.

Bamford, though, played 45 minutes against Stoke last weekend and is set to feature in next Thursday's friendly against Brisbane Roar as the Whites take in their first of three games Down Under.

Asked about Ayling and Bamford after Thursday's victory against the Tangerines, Marsch revealed: "Ayling won't be ready for the first match but he's ahead of schedule so there's a high possibility that he can be training in August.

"I don't want to be too optimistic but that's where we're at.

"With Patrick, we decided to take it a little bit easy with him.

"He played 45 minutes and played well the last game (against Stoke) and he should be ready to go.

"He'll be in part of training tomorrow, he should be in training when we get started in Australia.

"One of the things with Patrick is just making sure that as we're moving ourselves along, that it's not just how is his foot doing but it's been nine-ten months since he has been an actively professional footballer so we need to manage that effectively."