Patrick Bamford has insisted he is raring to go after making a goalscoring return for Leeds United. Several long-term injury setbacks over the last year have coincided with the Whites’ struggles in the Premier League.
The 29-year-old barely featured in the second half of 2021-22 as Leeds maintained their top-flight status by the barest of margins. It was thought that this season would provide a clean slate for Bamford - but his time on the treatment table has increased.
Before last night, the forward had not featured since the 2-1 win at Liverpool on October 29. However, the World Cup break offered an opportunity for Bamford to get fully fit, with no desperation to rush back.
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Scoring a tap-in at Villa Park may have been a consolation but will fill Leeds supporters with confidence going into the second half of the season. That goal was Bamford’s first since the last-minute equaliser against Brentford in December 2021.
Speaking post-match, the striker admitted he felt relieved to come through the game injury-free. He told Sky Sports: “It is nice to be back and actually feel in one piece. Everyone knows I had the operation in the break we just had for the World Cup which, I think, got to the root of all the problems.
“Now it’s about getting up to match speed and hopefully I can do that in the coming weeks. One of the worst things about last year was that I was out and watching the games. I wasn't able to help the team. Now, I feel that I'm in a position where I can definitely give more to the team and play a big part.”
Leeds could - and should - have taken at least a point from the game. A combination of good goalkeeping from Emiliano Martinez and tight VAR margins for both sides proved the difference at Villa Park.
Bamford agreed that the performance was on point but stressed it does not matter as United lost the game. He added: “Yeah (whether the performance was good), but we've lost the game. It’s one of them. We said a lot of times that we probably felt we deserved something out of the game.
“I don't know whether it's naivety but we need to turn the good performances into three points. It's no good coming in here each time and saying ‘maybe deserved a bit more.’ So that's got to change quickly. There was definitely room for us to get back in the game. We probably could have capitalised on a few more dangerous situations.”
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