It's been a long, old journey for Adam Forshaw, but the midfielder finally looks set to make his comeback from injury at Leeds United.

The 5 foot 9 ace has been out of action for Marcelo Bielsa's side since September 2019 with a hip injury, but has recently made steady progress in his bid to return before the end of the Premier League season.

He played 84 minutes of the U23s title-clinching Premier League 2 clash against Aston Villa last Friday, and will surely be given a few more run outs with the youth side before his eventual return to the first-team squad.

And in a Q&A for The Athletic's Leeds coverage of the clash against Liverpool in the Premier League, Phil Hay delivered a couple of key updates on Forshaw and where things stand.

When asked whether he would be included on the bench, he said: "That's something to look out for. If he doesn't, he won't be far away because he's been making very good progress in the past four or five weeks - the sort of progress which makes Leeds think he's finally over the worst.

And then, in a response to a question about what his return could mean for the club's summer transfer plans, he revealed: "They would have to think carefully about that because Forshaw is competition for Phillips and Bielsa has always rated him extremely highly."

Bielsa himself meanwhile has opened the door to the 29-year-old coming back into his first-team plans recently, saying: "He has basically been not playing for two seasons and to be able to play 90 minutes at a high competition after being healthy - there is still a while to go before you're ready for that.

"He's healthy, and has two months left of the season to prove that he is finally over his issues. We all hope it will be like this, because he is a very important player and he has made a massive effort to overcome the situation that he's been through."

Given the long road that the £20k-a-week earning ace has walked to getting to this point here, Bielsa will be intent not to rush him back anytime soon.

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But, given that he is well on his way to making his return, the time to unleash Forshaw in the Premier League is surely near.

Meanwhile, Leeds must land this Championship star...