It has been confirmed that Adam Forshaw is back in training on grass for Leeds United following a lengthy period on the sidelines.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder has had a torrid battle with injury this season as he is yet to play since September when he last featured against Charlton Athletic for 45 minutes during the second-half. 

It has been a very odd season for Forshaw who is heralded as one of the most important players to this Leeds United side under Marcelo Bielsa. His arrival from Teesside was greeted without much jubilation from fans who saw him as just a very steady midfielder that rarely makes mistakes. Something very much needed at the time.

However, since the arrival of Marcelo Bielsa in 2018, Forshaw’s technical ability in the middle has flourished and seen him become a very important part of how Leeds setup both in and out of possession.

His injury was diagnosed as a ‘hip’ injury on the inside of his groin and was not deemed to be serious, meaning he could have potentially played the following fixture against Derby County if all went well. Three months have passed and we are only just seeing that Forshaw is emerging on the grass training again.

With his return finally on the horizon, we take a closer look at the number behind his impressive start to the season to see just how important he is to Bielsa’s side in the run-in…

With his last appearance coming so early in the season, it is no surprise to see that Forshaw has clocked up just 626 minutes in the league. That amounts to just under seven full games this season, a very underwhelming number for such an influential figure at Elland Road.

Operating in the centre of midfield just in front of Kalvin Phillips, he is another player who helps Leeds play out from the back and counteract the high press that teams tend to implement at Elland Road.

His calmness in possession has been sorely missed with more inexperienced players in that position such as Jamie Shackleton (20-years-old) and Stuart Dallas (a wide player) deputising in the meantime.

The numbers completely back up just how good Forshaw is for Leeds, with a rate of 68% of his actions being successful ones in all aspects of the game, offensively and defensively.

Despite registering no assists or second assists for Leeds this season, his passing both long and short, forwards and back, is his outstanding strength. So far, he has averaged a passing accuracy at a staggeringly high 90.2% and while that could indicate he plays a lot of his football simply, he averages 82.1% accuracy with passes that go forward. It didn’t really need proving but this would go some way to dispelling the myth that Forshaw isn’t great going forward.

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Defensively, his role is crucial alongside Mateusz Klich to win the ball back for Leeds before counter-attacks can develop. Many of the top teams have implemented something similar to what Leeds do when losing possession. It is to stop the player on the ball from getting any time to play the ball into space and create momentum, most notably seen in Jurgen Klopp’s and Pep Guardiola’s management style.

With that in mind, Forshaw is a key player in the midfield to stop opponents breaking against the Whites’ defence. He averages a 53.7% success rate in his overall defensive duels and has made 42 recoveries this season, at 6.04 per game. An astounding number of times to turn the ball over in Leeds’ favour each game.

While the numbers alone do enough to prove his influence on the side, there is the idea that his calming presence on the ball is something that Leeds have struggled to keep during his spell out.

Game management is a huge part of being a promotion-chasing side and Forshaw has been there and done it, his intelligence both in and out of possession will be crucial as he returns to help Leeds in their promotion run-in.