Leeds United have been dealt a fresh setback on their injury-prone star striker…

What’s the latest?

As per The Athletic, Patrick Bamford was expected to undergo “minor surgery” on a groin issue.

Whilst he is likely to return to contention in just two weeks, the procedure underpins yet another setback for someone who has long suffered from various problems.

LeedsLive then offered some fresh information on the situation, as they claimed the surgery had gone well and the 29-year-old will rehabilitate back at Thorp Arch until his reported return at the end of the month.

Marsch will be worried

Although this seems to only be a small issue that needed to be sorted, it marks yet another niggle for Bamford to worry about.

Since his sensational couple of seasons that earned promotion from the Championship and a ninth-place finish in the Premier League, the English marksman has struggled for fitness.

He has featured just 19 times across the last season and a half, and this season has not completed 90 minutes of a competitive game since September 2021.

What makes his troubles so frustrating is just how electric and important he became for the Whites in those two aforementioned seasons.

During the former, he bagged 16 times and assisted four as his side cruised to the title.

Many questions would then arise over his ability to perform in England’s top flight, which he would quickly brush aside as he went one further on his previous tally by scoring 17 and assisting eight.

Since then, however, Marcelo Bielsa was dismissed as Jesse Marsch led a desperate scramble for safety in his absence.

They would survive the drop by just three points but became reliant on the goals of Raphinha, who left in the summer.

Even when he threatened to return to fitness in January - to end the “nightmare” as Alex McLeish dubbed it - he would just be struck straight back to the treatment table.

Despite Rodrigo somewhat stepping up with nine goals this season, Marsch and co would surely still would love to have their £35k-per-week star man up front and back in action.

As mentioned above, although this is a small procedure, it could be a sign that this season threatens to be another nightmarish and injury-ravaged one.

That will surely worry Marsch once more.