Leeds United staff get the Gnonto experience, winger returns and midfielder sits down with Orta

Tuesday morning's training session at Oliva Nova Sport Centre was all about set-pieces. There was no Diego Llorente, just yet, the centre-back returned to Oliva late on Monday night after hand surgery in Murcia to repair a fractured knuckle and Junior Firpo is due to fly in today to join the group. Stuart Dallas was around, although obviously not involved in the contact stuff, and Luis Sinisterra was spotted too having spent the first part of the week entirely in the gym.

A far lighter session than Monday's run-fest, Jesse Marsch had his players warming up, passing the ball around and then splitting into two groups to work on offensive and defensive corners and free-kicks.

The staff played their most active part of the week thus far, goalkeeping coach Marcos Abad, Sharp and Marsch himself among those pinging in deliveries for one group of players to defend or attack.

First team sports scientist Tom Robinson, meanwhile, was making a nuisance of himself in the area, trying to escape markers to get a header on goal.

As Sharp in particular discovered, getting one over on Gnonto and co is a difficult task. The coach attempted to take on Gnonto at a short corner but could not get by the Italian international and Forshaw took great glee in pointing out the difference between the practice and the theory, reminding Sharp to remember his ‘rest defence’ – something Marsch has been drilling into the players this week.

There was just as much amusement when Darko Gyabi's attacking header was deemed terrific defending and when the teenager blocked a Forshaw free-kick, that the midfielder insisted was goalbound, using his face.

Robin Koch was an active part of the attack, getting first contact on a number of deliveries, and Leo Hjelde put himself about as well. For Koch, though, the session was interrupted as he felt something, stretching out his calf and seeking out some treatment. Such a sight is relatively commonplace, though, so there's never any real alarm, as the Crysencio Summerville situation on Monday proved.

The young Dutchman went down in agony on Monday morning after a fairly innocuous Marc Roca challenge and limped out of the session before the laps of the pitch commenced, citing an ankle problem. Yet on Tuesday, he was back playing a full part in training once again and, when everyone else was finished, he was put through the same running they did a day earlier.

Before Summerville's solo session, players at one end of the pitch took turns at drilling penalties at Dani van den Heuvel and it was pointed out on the sideline by this correspondent that Rodrigo had not missed one during the entire camp. Every single spot-kick he had taken had been drilled into the net, with a variety of finishing styles and trajectories but mostly with brutal force. No sooner had this fact been highlighted than Van den Heuvel saved one from the Spaniard.

Just like the pre-season camp in Australia, this trip has seen the squad sectioned into three groups who compete in daily challenges and Tuesday's was a closest to the halfway line competition. Players rolled the ball from one end of the pitch towards halfway, with a point going to the team of the closest effort.

Dallas, who is going through his own running and conditioning programme as part of his rehabilitation, joined in and with his left peg left the ball just a yard or two shy of the halfway line, earning a point and the right to throw up his arms and declare: "He's back."

And with the challenge complete, the only thing remaining - other than extras for the ultra diligent - was to usher kitman Paul into what can only be described as a gauntlet of slaps, delivered by two flanks of players.

As Darko Gyabi and Cody Drameh worked on passing the ball around mannequins, Summerville set off on his runs and Gnonto headed for media duty, Mateusz Klich sat down in a dugout for a chat with director of football Victor Orta.

The conversation could well have revolved around set-piece routines or the difficulty in weighting a pass to land on the halfway line, but there's a strong chance it was more along the lines of what the future holds for the Pole.

Summer's transfer deadline came and went but Klich did not, he remained, and though the club sees him as a significant enough part of their plans to keep him in place, it would be fair to question whether the player feels his role is significant enough to justify staying put.

There have been no visible signs of unhappiness from Klich this week in training, there's often a broad grin on his face and by all accounts his attitude has been spot-on, but the 188 minutes of Premier League football he has played so far is a fraction of what he's used to. There is interest in the 32-year-old, and lots of it, and he's got lots to ponder between now and January 1.

The most pressing concern for him and several others in the Leeds United touring party this afternoon, however, was getting out onto the golf course to enjoy some downtime before Wednesday's sessions.

On Thursday Marsch's men pit themselves against LaLiga opposition in Elche, but they will still train on the morning of the game. Double sessions, like stopping Premier League attackers, are another thing that's easier said than done.