Kalvin Phillips or Adam Forshaw? Leeds United selection dilemmas facing Marcelo Bielsa ahead of Swansea City


A knee injury ruled Forshaw out of Saturday’s meeting with his old club Middlesbrough but he has a chance of returning for the Swansea game and vying for the role given to Kalvin Phillips at The Riverside.
Bielsa had intended to start Forshaw at the weekend but the 27-year-old’s injury gave Phillips the chance to feature in his favoured defensive midfield position for the first time in two months.
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Hide AdPhillips came up with the most dramatic of goals, a header in the 101st minute, to earn a 1-1 draw and push his case for a longer run in the same role.


Bielsa is assessing Forshaw’s fitness in the hope of having him available but the Argentinian expects to be without Barry Douglas after revealing the left-back is suffering from another injury.
Douglas returned after a month out with a muscular problem to feature as a second-half substitute in a 3-1 defeat to Norwich City on February 2 but was missing at Middlesbrough.
Bielsa said: “We’ll see if Adam Forshaw can play against Swansea. With Douglas, I think it will be difficult for him to make it for Swansea but he should be available after that game.”
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Hide AdStuart Dallas and Gaetano Berardi are still on the sidelines after ankle and hamstring problems respectively, although Dallas was due to begin running outdoors this week and Berardi hopes to return before the end of the month.
Izzy Brown, meanwhile, made his first appearance in a matchday squad for Leeds at Boro, watching the game as an unused substitute.
The on-loan Chelsea midfielder has not seen any first-team action for over a year having undergone ACL surgery last season but he is finally part of Bielsa’s plans, five months after arriving from Stamford Bridge.
He could be given another Under-23s run-out when Leeds play Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow.