Leeds United's first half performance away to Wolverhampton Wanderers two weeks ago was rocked by the premature withdrawal of centre-forward Patrick Bamford. The England striker ruptured tissue in the base of his foot, a problem he had been plagued by for the entire season, meaning he will now spend six weeks on the sidelines. Dejected by repeated injury setbacks, Bamford was visibly emotional on the substitutes' bench at Molineux, the palm of his hand cupping a sullen chin.
Sam Greenwood was thrust on in Bamford's place for the remaining 70 minutes of the match. Having taken a short period of time to acclimatise, Greenwood eventually contributed something meaningful during the second half. Shrugging off the challenge of Roman Saiss, he controlled the Wolves defender's scuffed clearance, laying it into Rodrigo's path who found the net from a tight angle.
Leeds' equalising goal was nothing short of chaotic, but knitted together by an instance of poise and clarity from Greenwood. The 20-year-old was commended for his performance by head coach Jesse Marsch prior to this weekend's fixture against Southampton: "When you talk about the the striker position, certainly Sam Greenwood I thought played really well in Wolves off the bench and we kind of used him for a little bit as the striker position and then one of the 10s."
Greenwood is not the only young forward at the club, eager for first-team minutes; his introduction at Molineux perhaps came as a surprise considering the personnel on the bench. "Joffy [Joe Gelhardt] was a little bit injured in the Wolves game and wasn't at 100%," Marsch said of Elland Road's last-minute hero against Norwich City a week earlier. "Certainly with me and with us in this process, we have to get him going more and more and more. So certainly he will play a much bigger role now going forward," the head coach added.
"We were considering him to start against Wolves," Marsch said, referencing 19-year-old Gelhardt. "And then the whole week he didn't train because - well, first he was going to play against Man U in the 23s match - and then we wanted to make [it the] intention for Wolves [for him to play] from the start or [to get] more minutes and then he just had this back spasm that prevented him a little bit from training."
"He has to play, you know, young players have to play in order to improve and he has the quality to do so. So I'm not so concerned about it. I believe in him entirely. And I know he's going to get better and better," the head coach added, stating his intention to increase Gelhardt's first-team involvement. In addition, Marsch included teenage defender Leo Hjelde in his first-team injury update, revealing he had successfully recovered from knee surgery and had returned to training. The Norwegian signed for Leeds 12 months after Gelhardt and Greenwood but has featured sporadically within the first-team setup already this season.
On the whole, given Bamford's absence for the next five or six matches, coupled with Marsch's tendency to start two centre-forwards, there is an opportunity for the younger players; something the American admitted: "That's where we're at right now in evaluating the entire attacking situation without Patrick. It's a chance, it's an opportunity for me to get to know Joffy more and Sam Greenwood and some of our young players and then to invest in them and their development."
Marsch talking up his young forwards publicly will only serve to embolden them and strengthen the bond he has already developed with the youngsters at the club. Having worked with squads mostly aged 23-or-under at FC Red Bull Salzburg, Marsch's tactic of openly endorsing his best and brightest serves as motivation to those at the beginning of their careers and on the fringes of the first-team.
GO HERE: Rate Jesse Marsch's opening month in charge of Leeds United
