Leeds United look set to welcome back goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell this weekend when they host Millwall.

Kiko Casilla’s red card in the defeat to Sheffield United means he will miss the Elland Road clash with the Lions, and the Northern Ireland international should return between the sticks.

It will be the 22-year-old’s first taste of Championship football since January 19 if he is to start for Marcelo Bielsa this weekend.

This past week Peacock-Farrell has had the chance to get back onto the pitch, being selected for Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland squad for their recent EURO 2020 qualifiers, of which he played the 90 minutes in both wins over Estonia and Belarus.

But the recent week of joy has not been the overarching feeling of the past two months.

The Leeds stopper opened up about a ‘difficult’ spell since his last competitive appearance for the Whites, before receiving international recognition.

Despite the lack of game time, Peacock-Farrell put on two solid displays in the wins and made crucial saves ahead of a potential recall to the starting XI for Leeds this weekend.

Speaking to the press post-match after the win against Estonia, he discussed his first appearance since January and how the time in between has been.

"It has been difficult and character building,” Peacock-Farrell said to the assembled media, reported via Leeds Live.

“You have to try and take the positives out of it.

“It was an opportunity for me to work on a few things, get in the gym and build on things that way as well.

“No one likes not playing because we are in this sport to play, so it was a new experience for me to sit out and watch someone else play."

The verdict

Peacock-Farrell came across really well and spoke after the win over Estonia.

The two games have proven to be great warm-ups for the stopper who is expected to come back into the team this weekend.

It shows his level of attitude and engagement that his performances were impressive despite not having played for two months.

Those performances will stand him in good stead for this weekend’s game with Millwall – and it is a timely return to form, too, which the Leeds fans must surely be pleased with.