Leeds United are expected to have Sam Byram “fully available” for the trip to West Brom on Friday night, after he made a surprise return to the squad against Preston.
The Whites have seen their spirits dampened somewhat after beating Ipswich, losing their next game away to Preston to effectively undo the work they put in before Christmas.
Leeds’ chance to continue trying to close the gap comes in the form of a fellow top six side in Carlos Corberan’s West Brom.
Early Leeds team news: Byram fully fit
Sam Byram has been sorely missed at left-back these past few weeks, despite Djed Spence growing into his makeshift role recently.
The free transfer has been a constant in Leeds’ better performances this season, and his return to the side looks more likely this Friday against the Baggies.
That’s according to Daniel Farke, who spoke pre-West Brom to reveal that he is “fully available”, via the YEP:
“We had Sam Byram back with us today, he just trained with us yesterday and I just had him on the team sheet for 10 or 15 minutes.
“He will have two more days training and is then fully available for this game. That’s good. All the others will be a bit difficult because Luke is struggling with knee problems at the moment so I am not sure he will make it. Also Shackleton it is too soon, he’s not been in training so we’ll see how he develops.”
Leeds United injury list in full
Leeds don’t have a great deal of injuries to worry about right now, with Farke’s squad nearly at full strength for the Baggies trip.
Jamie Shackleton’s looming return and Luke Ayling’s minor injury means only Stuart Dallas is a long-term issue, while Illan Meslier sits out with suspension:
Leeds United absentee list
Jamie Shackleton Glute Back in training
Luke Ayling Knee Unavailable
Stuart Dallas Femur Unknown (fitness)
Illan Meslier Red card Three match ban
Huge boost for Byram to be back
Byram being back in the squad and fully fit is a huge boost for us, because we’ve lacked balance between our two wings lately.
Having him on the left heading into January is so much better than stifling Djed Spence by playing him on the left.
Archie Gray has served us incredibly well at right-back, but that experiment is something that needs to end with Spence ready to play now.
