Former Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has warned of the danger of rushing a return from injury as Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford prepares to make his comeback.
The 28-year-old has not made an appearance for the Whites since December, when he scored the late equaliser in the 2-2 home draw with Brentford.
He was named as a substitute by Jesse Marsch for the newly-appointed head coach's first game in charge and although he did not enter the fray, his presence on the bench raised hope of an impending return.
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McLeish, however, has claimed it is possible to be 'sucked into something by your head when your body isn't ready'.
He told Football Insider: "Let’s face it, everyone in that squad is desperate for Patrick to be back out there.
"They will want him to hit the ground running. He has got to come in and be the Patrick Bamford that we have seen light up the Premier League in recent seasons. He possesses that bit of magic in front of goal.
"But your body does not lie. You can get sucked into something by your head when your body isn’t ready. You can’t expose yourself.
"I played with a broken toe once, it was a stress fracture, and it snapped. I came back to help the manager because we were struggling at the time. I ended up being ruled out for the season."
Bamford was not used during the defeat to Leicester City as Marsch instead opted to introduce Joe Gelhardt, Adam Forshaw and Tyler Roberts from the bench.
The latter was introduced with just 14 minutes of normal time remaining but picked up an injury shortly after joining the action and moved worryingly gingerly for the remainder of the match.
It remains to been whether the Wales international will be available for Thursday, when Aston Villa visit Elland Road.
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