Patrick Bamford is in a position to be able to fill the sizeable hole left by the absence of Rodrigo over the next few months. That’s according to Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch, who believes the striker is currently in the best shape he has seen him in during his Elland Road tenure.
Bamford’s problems with fitness and injuries have been well documented during the last 18 months with the England international struggling to build up a consistent run of games. However, after going under the knife in December, he has managed to find progress and a degree of form, too.
His first goal in over a year came at Villa Park on his return to action and he followed that up in emphatic fashion with a brace against Cardiff City in the FA Cup. He drew blanks against both Brentford and Accrington Stanley at the end of January, but his performances were still strong enough to earn praise from the head coach and he is now in contention to start against his boyhood club Nottingham Forest on Sunday after Rodrigo's injury.
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Rodrigo has held down the club’s number nine role throughout the campaign, bagging 12 goals in all competitions, but the ankle issue he picked up at the Wham Stadium will keep him out for a period of around eight weeks. As such, there is a place up for grabs in United's attacking line.
Of course, Marsch does have other options at his disposal, namely club record signing Georginio Rutter, who is still waiting to make his Premier League bow for the Whites. Rutter managed to showcase glimpses of his talents against Accrington and he will play an important role over the second half of the season.
The head coach spoke of his excitement to hand opportunities to Rutter in the coming weeks and months, but he also revealed that while Bamford’s workload will continue to be managed, he is as fit as he has seen him since arriving in West Yorkshire.
“Even when we put Rodri in [against Accrington] part of the idea was can we get those two playing together a little bit more and what would that look like,” Marsch said when asked about the opportunity Bamford might have in Rodrigo's absence.
“Unfortunately, we won't be able to visit that for a little while but the fact that Patrick is physically in the best shape in at least a year and a half is, I think, the most important talking point.
“If he feels good physically then he has quality and he's a natural goal scorer and then you can see his confidence grow in training and in matches. So he went through a stretch earlier in the season where he wasn't taking his chances as well, but part of it was he just physically wasn't right.
“Now he's on track and we need him. So I think Georgi, they can play together as well. I think also Patrick, we’ll monitor carefully to make sure that we don't overextend him, and then we can use Georgi at times, too. But I think those two are both ready to take more on their shoulders.”
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