Jesse Marsch shares Leeds United medical team's Patrick Bamford injury prevention plan

Leeds have not added a senior striker this summer and the familiar sight of Daniel James replacing Patrick Bamford as the England forward trudged off was enough for fans to fear the worst last weekend.

Fortunately, head coach Jesse Marsch forecasts Bamford’s absence to be a brief one – if at all.

Sunday’s fixture at home to Chelsea could prove too soon for the 29-year-old but Bamford’s identification of an issue and subsequent honesty at St Mary’s Stadium pleased head coach Marsch.

"What I'm most pleased with is that he was honest with us and made the decision that it just wasn't right,” the American said.

“It's just the reality and again, listen, we've even tried in the week to modify his [Bamford’s] loading and he's been feeling great.”

“But it's obvious that when you're out for so long that there's going to be little things that pop up and so again maybe we could have made the decision not to play him, but he felt good.

"We have to manage him appropriately,” he added.

Leeds’ plan for the 2022/23 season appears to be monitoring the player’s workload carefully, avoiding situations which place his body under duress as he regains the ability to play 90 minutes on a weekly basis.

"I've challenged him to be honest with us on exactly where he stands with things and and he felt like he wasn't 100 per cent, so he didn't want to stress it and he made the right decision, I think, to come off,” Marsch said of Bamford’s fitness issues.

Bamford missed the vast majority of last season after initially picking up an ankle injury last September.

Subsequent quadricep, hamstring and foot injuries followed, with his final appearance of the 2021/22 campaign coming away to Wolves in March.

Leeds’ most effective insurance policy would be the acquisition of another forward, and while efforts are still being made to that end, there is no guarantee United will add cover before the window closes.

Therefore, the medical team’s monitoring of Bamford throughout the campaign could take on even greater significance.