It’s quite common knowledge that Leeds United were hampered by injuries last season, which made their push for promotion in the Championship all that more impressive.  

Leeds had to contend with 40+ injuries over the course of the full campaign, but still finished third, falling agonisingly short of automatic promotion before collapsing in the play-offs.

Without those injuries, who knows what might’ve been for Leeds, and if they can avoid mass problems this year, there’s every chance that Marcelo Bielsa will have the Whites at the right end of the table come May.

So far, though, two players are yet to feature, with Luke Ayling and Tyler Roberts on the comeback trail following their respective issues.

For Roberts, he returned to action for the under-23s yesterday, getting valuable second-half minutes in a goalless draw with Crystal Palace.

Here, we look at three knock-on effects the forward’s return will have for Bielsa…

Another pacy option

One thing that Leeds perhaps lacked last season was genuine pace, but that can’t be levelled at them this year.

Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa are rapid additions to the Leeds squad that are only going to ease some of that particular burden when it comes to Roberts.

Nketiah provides the pace up-front, whilst Costa does the same out wide. But, for Roberts, he uses his pace well when playing in the No.10 role.

He produced some good performances there in the second-half of last season, with his outing against West Brom perhaps the standout moment in his campaign.

His fast footwork and progressive running led to two assists that evening.

Versatility in attack

One thing Bielsa absolutely loves about Roberts is that he can use him in two or three positions to good effect.

He started last season on the wing, before Bielsa was forced to move him into a No.9 role due to injuries to Patrick Bamford and Kemar Roofe.

Roberts did well through the middle, but there’s no doubt he was at his best in the No.10 role.

There, he offered Leeds a different option to a Adam Forshaw-Mateusz Klich axis, whilst his pace was often more effective than Pablo Hernandez’s craft.

Hernandez likes playing on the right and Bielsa rates him there, so when Roberts returns, expect to see him become an alternative to Forshaw and Klich ahead of Kalvin Phillips.

Jack Clarke further down the pecking order  

It’s been a tough start to the season for Jack Clarke, who returned to Leeds on loan from Tottenham in the summer.

Clarke is one of six loanees at Leeds, and with Bielsa only allowed to field five in his matchday squad, Clarke has been the one missing out in the Championship.

So, with Roberts returning as a versatile attacking option to Bielsa, you imagine this will push Clarke even further out of the picture.

That, combined with the fact Roberts is permanently on the books at Leeds, means Clarke’s chance of first-team football begins to look even bleaker.