It was a surprise when Marcelo Bielsa confirmed Pascal Struijk was starting his first Leeds United match at the earliest opportunity on Sunday.
When the teamsheets landed at 1pm in the capital, there were high hopes Struijk and Rodrigo would at least be on the bench, but to see the defender starting was a major shot in the arm.
To then see Struijk play the way he did after six weeks out with no under-23s preparation and the sizeable challenge of Michail Antonio on his plate, was staggering.
While the defender saw out the full 90, Rodrigo wasn’t even risked for the 70 minutes he would have needed to play if he directly replaced Adam Forshaw in the first half.
Bielsa preferred to sugar that pill with 40 minutes for Lewis Bate before turning to the returning Spain international. Patrick Bamford, the third possible returner mentioned in last week’s pre-match press conference, was nowhere to be seen.
Bamford had not taken any steps backwards between that briefing and Sunday’s kick-off, Bielsa said, and there remained hope the return to Elland Road was still an option for the number nine.
The head coach speaks again on Thursday with a final update on who is in and who is out. Tyler Roberts and Jamie Shackleton were given outside chances in Bielsa’s broadcast interviews in Stratford.
Junior Firpo and Adam Forshaw present fresher question marks and Bamford’s availability will at least prompt some hope in the stands of an immediate start, like Struijk.
However, Bielsa’s post-match comments underlined just why it’s harder for the likes of Bamford and Rodrigo to come back as quickly as a Struijk or a Robin Koch.
“There are players like Pascal and [Liam] Cooper, like Koch, that can get close to their best version quickly,” he said.
“And there are players, especially those creative ones, who need a little bit more time to impose their virtues.
“For the defenders, the defensive mids, that match fitness, they acquire it a lot quicker. For the players out wide or those in the middle, or creative ones, it takes a little more time.
“That's why the return of Tyler, Bamford, Rodrigo, [Joe] Gelhardt is going to take a little bit longer than Cooper, [Kalvin] Phillips, Koch, Pascal, who are centre-backs.”
Even the biggest optimists would have had reservations about Bamford immediately returning to the starting line-up, but Bielsa’s explanation at least shows his logic and sets a precedent for future returners.
