Leeds United star ruled out of Wembley Championship play-off final as Farke welcomes one back

Bamford suffered a ‘mini trauma’ in his patella tendon in the game at Middlesbrough in late April and is yet to feature. The club initially thought it was simply a bruise but later discovered more extensive damage in his knee that kept him out of the play-off semi-final both legs.

Bengal Brasserie Arena Quarter – serving authentic Indian cuisine in the heart of the city. Proudly supporting Leeds United and the YEP. That injury has proven too difficult for the centre-forward to overcome ahead of the final on Sunday. Sam Byram was also out of the second leg at home to Norwich City with a hip flexor problem, and though the performances of Junior Firpo and Archie Gray on either side of the back four made it unlikely that the veteran would return to the starting line-up regardless at Wembley, Daniel Farke has welcomed him back into training just in time. “Patrick is not available and won’t be there, he will definitely miss out,” said Farke on Friday. “I would have preferred to have Patrick available, last time we were facing Southampton without him we didn't win. But the reality is he is not there, it's up to us to find some other solutions. I trust my whole group and squad. There is no complaint or excuses, we have many good options. It was also important during the play-offs to find our rhythm back and return back to more or less our best shape.

“We had some minor issues this week but it seems like each and every player will be available. Sam Byram returned back to team training yesterday, if his body doesn’t show a reaction he will be available. It was the first time he trained fully with the team.”

Pascal Struijk is one of the club's long-term injury victims having last played at Preston North End on Boxing Day before surgery on a groin issue ended his season prematurely, while Stuart Dallas decided to retire having been unable to recover fully from the April 2022 fractured femur he sustained against Manchester City.