Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw completes competitive comeback after 18 months out

The 29-year-old midfielder featured during the club's Under-23s outing at Aston Villa in the Premier League 2 - a game where the Whites sealed promotion to the top division of category one football with a 2-1 win.

Forshaw came through 84 minutes unscathed in the Midlands as he took another major step on his recovery from a complex hip injury.

He last appeared in Marcelo Bielsa's senior matchday squad in September 2019, having endured a torrid time in the Elland Road treatment room and undergoing a number of surgeries to cure the injury issue.

Leeds have since earned promotion to the Premier League from the Championship in his long absence but the midfielder harbours hopes of playing in the top flight this term.

He came through a bounce game at the weekend against York City at Thorp Arch and has now completed his first competitive minutes at development level for over a year and a half.

Various setbacks had derailed any impending long-awaited comeback but, in February, Forshaw revealed his hope of being involved before the current campaign was done and it now appears to be a step closer for the former Middlesbrough man.

The central midfielder returned to training last month and has now entered the next phase of his rehab as he bids to hand Bielsa a boost at senior level in the closing stages of the campaign.