Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has confirmed that Joe Gelhardt is ‘ready to go’ against Chelsea.

The Lowdown: Southampton absence

Gelhardt made his first appearance of the season in Leeds’ opening weekend win vs Wolves but was missing a week later against Southampton.

Marsch admitted that the 20-year-old, labelled as 'astonishing' by Adrian Durham, didn’t travel due to a dead leg, adding that he didn’t want to ‘push’ the payer with midweek games coming up soon.

The Latest: Gelhardt update

Leeds relayed comments from Marsch on their official Twitter page regarding Gelhardt.

He confirmed the forward ‘is back and ready to go’, adding that Luke Ayling and Junior Firpo are also making good progress from their respective issues.

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The Verdict: Good news

Patrick Bamford was withdrawn at St Mary’s with his own injury problem and seems to be 50/50 for Sunday with Marsch evaluating the player day by day, so having Gelhardt back is a big boost.

He enjoyed a breakthrough season last year, contributing to six Premier League goals in 730 minutes of action, form that recently earned the player a new long-term deal.

Due to concerns regarding Bamford’s fitness, Gelhardt may be given the nod from the off, or at least a part to play from the bench with Rodrigo potentially leading the line.