Stuart Dallas played through the pain barrier on Thursday night as he featured in his country's latest European Championship qualifier. Despite his and the team's efforts, it wasn't enough to carry them into the competition as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to Slovakia.

The Leeds left-back picked up what looked like a serious arm injury during the fixture, but played the full 90 minutes, plus the extra time to determine the winner. No confirmation of a long-lasting injury has been given by the club, but it looked like it could've been a huge blow for the Whites fans. Should Dallas be sidelined, it could force Marcelo Bielsa to give young Leif Davis the nod.

Davis could be forced to step up to the plate

The 20-year-old has been limited to just 13 minutes of action this season, coming on as a substitute against Manchester City as Leeds held them to a draw. Davis managed to bag himself an assist last season despite playing only 192 minutes of football in total (via Transfermarkt).

However, despite his elusive status for Leeds, it's clear Bielsa sees a lot of promise in the £90,000-rated defender. His versatility is something that could be of vital use to the manager this season, particularly if key members of the team pick up injuries or develop positive cases of coronavirus.

"I want to give an example," Bielsa told Leeds Live when asked about promising members of the Leeds set up. "[Leif] Davis is a great player, full of future, resources and skills.

"In my opinion, Davis was far from the first team in our first year and after he worked a lot in the team, with brilliant willing, a lot of effort, dedication, he gives everything."

The hard-working youngster could see the fruits of his labour pay off in the absence of Dallas. It's clear that Bielsa is already a huge fan of his, he is just waiting for the right time to deploy the left-back. That time could be now.

In other news, Ouasim Bouy is surely headed for the door after rinsing Leeds’ money pot...