Steven Gerrard has outlined the 'huge' benefit of having Bertrand Traore and Leon Bailey back available for a place in the starting XI as his Aston Villa side make the trip to Leeds United on Thursday.
The Villains will be looking to build on the thumping 4-0 win over Southampton on the weekend as they look to climb into the top half of the Premier League table.
Phillipe Coutinho produced a Man of the Match performance as he grabbed a goal and an assist, while Danny Ings, Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz also found the scoresheet at Villa Park.
Gerrard's side travel to Elland Road in a rich vein of form and will be boosted that Traore and Bailey are both in contention to start the game, having fully recovered from injuries.
"I think I can speak on behalf of Bertrand and Leon that one of the main frustrations I’ve had as manager is not having them available to help the team enough," Gerrard told Birmingham Live.
"Leon came back and got an injury. Bertrand came back, went away with his national team and got injured.
"Those two, when we came into the job, were two really exciting players with high level skill we thought would help the team in the final third.
"We were really excited to come in and work with them but we’ve had very little time to do that. Having those two back fit and available really pushing the players in the XI will only be a benefit."
Bailey has made three appearances since returning from a long-term thigh issue, coming on as substitute against Newcastle United, Watford and Southampton. However, he is yet to replicate the impact he had in the 3-0 win against Everton back in September, after he rounded off an impressive victory with an emphatic finish past Jordan Pickford.
Traore has struggled for regular minutes since Gerrard's appointment after contracting Covid-19 and recovering from a hamstring injury. The Burkino Faso winger was back on the bench to face Southampton but didn't manage to come on.
Meanwhile, Leeds have lost their last five matches and are keen to bounce back from Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Leicester City.
