Boss Daniel Farke has provided his Leeds United team news for Sunday’s huge Premier League visit of Aston Villa.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has a fully-fit squad to choose from for the Elland Road clash with Aston Villa but he's cautioned against expecting two much from a pair of attackers.

The Whites return from the November international break to take on the Villans on Sunday in a 2pm kick-off.

Farke's international players reported back to Thorp Arch and the whole squad gathered to train together for the first time on Thursday morning.

And in a rare occurrence, Farke has no injuries to contend with as he prepares for Sunday's game.

"The Welsh players in a really good mood," he said. "One or two a bit more disappointing results for other lads. The most important thing is no one came back injured.

“I have all the players available, not one player injured. We had proper training week with the lads who were here. Today we had the whole group back on the training pitch and 48 more hours to prepare. Everyone is in a good mood, the sun is shining - it's cold but the sun is still shining so I can't complain."

One of the Welsh players who came back with a smile on his face was Daniel James.

The winger has had a frustrating, injury-hit season so far but helped himself to an assist and a goal in Wales' games against Liechtenstein and North Macedonia as they secured a home play-off spot in their World Cup qualification bid.

James' game time since he returned to fitness has been a talking point, something Farke is keenly aware of.

But the manager insists that while his appreciation of the speedster's ability cannot be questioned, James has to be given time to get back to his best.

"I talked about him before, he's of course a topic but I think we don't have to speak about him in a negative way at all," said Farke.

"Everyone in this room knows there's no one in the room who loves and supports Dan James more than I do. From more or less the first day I walked through the door - someone had made the glorious decision to send Dan James out on loan but my first decision was no, he will be a key player for us.

"I was criticised, why Jaidon Anthony or Largie Ramazani weren't playing and Dan James was more or less the first on the team sheet because I know what he's capable of. But we must not forget where he's coming from. It's the Premier League, best league in the world and you have to be in your best rhythm.

“He's missed more or less four months [combined] without a competitive game. He was injured during pre-season but I still started him at the beginning of August. He was perhaps not perfect, then there's another injury. You can't expect his performances to be as they would be if he was fully fit and full of confidence.

“I saw him growing before the break but he needs a bit of rhythm. On the training pitch and in short term appearances he has to find his confidence."

“I hope it won’t be that long”

The international break was 'beneficial' for James in Farke's eyes, though he pointed out the first Wales game was against a side in Liechtenstein with a certain level of quality.

"He was there with end products which is always good for the confidence," said the manager. "Those two games will be very beneficial for him. Each and every training session helps.

“The longer he's in team training the closer he comes to his best shape. There's an old saying in football - as long as you're out injured, you need that long to be in your best shape. I hope it won't be that long, I don't expect it'll be four or five months. We still can't expect miracles. I watch him closely, I know what he's doing. He's building some confidence."

Farke has a similar message when it comes to James' fellow winger Willy Gnonto. The Italian international was fit and available for the Nottingham Forest game prior to the break but was not selected for the squad with the manager later saying they decided not to risk him.

In his pre-Villa press conference Farke railed against the idea that players who didn't play in the 3-1 loss at the City Ground can be seen as winners in the narrative around Leeds.

He said: "Exactly the same [as James]. I loved Willy Gnonto at the end of last season, top shape, scored many important goals but it's more or less the same. Sometimes we forget how young this lad is.

“We have to be a bit careful to protect that we don't create a culture that when we lose, the players who didn't play are the winners. It leads to an attitude that if you're not playing you hope the team is losing because you're the winner and in the spotlight. We don't want to educate the players in this way.

"We started the season with Willy and DJ, there were not many end products and everyone was on their back. Then we have one or two poorer games and the players not playing are the winners. This is what I won't allow. I'll be careful with this.

"Willy played the first two or three, everyone on his back because he didn't score, didn't assist, then he was out six weeks injured and more or less eight weeks without a game.

“It's important we don't put too much weight on the shoulders. Gain the confidence back on the training pitch, show you're ready to go, perform there and use short term appearances to show this and build confidence.

“I can't allow myself to be too driven after a loss that the players who didn't play are the winners.

“Willy had calf problems, two hernia surgeries. I'm glad he's back and had a mini preseason and is back available but let's not expect that players who haven't featured will win the game for us all alone.

“We'll just be successful if we stay united, think more about the side and not individual players. We need players ready and able to work their socks off."