Reasons why Marcelo Bielsa won't rush Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling back into Leeds United team as he firmly makes a point

Tomorrow, Brentford come to Elland Road and there’s no doubt that it’s an important game, just as there’s no question over the importance of both players. Beating the Bees would represent a huge return over an eight-day period for Leeds, a seven-point haul from nine available ahead of four consecutive games against elite opposition.

Bamford and Ayling have been key to Bielsa’s success at Elland Road, the former scoring vital goals and, just like the latter, playing a vital role in the way the side builds their attacks. They are both leaders by example and Ayling adds a layer of influence through personality and vocal output.

His ability to drive forward with the ball from right-back took him all the way to the fringe of the England conversation last season.

That combination of factors naturally leads to an assumption that, having ticked off an Under 23s appearance on Monday night and been declared ‘likely available’ by their head coach, they should probably just go back into the team this weekend.

Yet even though Bielsa feels an urgency for wins and points to improve upon the start to the season, he has much to consider before giving Bamford and Ayling a nod that he was not yet ready to give yesterday morning.

“To be available and healthy is the first step for a player who has been without competition for two months,” he said.

“Nobody, just through their presence, guarantees their performance and the requiring of a football fitness level or the sporting level, which is the step prior to being healthy and training. A player can be healthy and they can be fit but the adaptation to the competition is something different.

“Sometimes that process is accelerated or it takes longer considering the particularities of each player and also sometimes the needs of the team. But sometimes the sporting reality of a team means that a player comes back to compete quicker. Managing all of that depends on a lot of factors and I cannot offer you a precise conclusion.”

Bielsa has often insisted that selecting a player who is unable to show exactly what he can do is not only to the player’s detriment, but the team’s and he cares too deeply about the individuals in his charge and the collective they make up to take undue risks.