Pablo Hernandez put in another key performance on Tuesday night to help Leeds return to the Championship's automatic promotion spots, with a 2-0 win over Preston at Deepdale, but the Spaniard's manager has revealed how close he came to not featuring at all.

The midfielder had been a big injury concern for the promotion chasers after picking up a knock in Saturday's defeat to Birmingham.

Although he was named on the teamsheet on Tuesday night, manager Marcelo Bielsa has revealed that he was still not certain at that point if Hernandez would take to the Deepdale pitch to start the game.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post after the match, Bielsa revealed that a decision on Hernandez was only taken after the pre-match warm up, saying: “We didn’t know how he would be and he was waiting until the warm-up before the game.

“From (Tuesday) morning, he started to make us feel that he was well and he finished the 90 minutes fine.”

The Spaniard, who turns 34 on Thursday, has remained a vital part of the Leeds push for the Premier League throughout the season, making 34 appearances in the league, providing 12 goals and 11 assists in the campaign.

The verdict

With Leeds desperately needing to bounce back in the promotion race following Saturday's defeat, the sight of Hernandez lining up will have given those around the club a huge boost, given the concerns around his availability and the importance of the game.

The Spaniard duly delivered as he has done all season, and Bielsa will hope that that is the end of the injury concerns around his squad for the rest of the season, with there being no more margin for error remaining.