Phil Hay has insisted that Rodrigo had been hopeful of returning from injury this weekend for Leeds United.

The Lowdown: Leeds are in need of more goals

Over the last few weeks, scoring goals has certainly been the Achilles heel for Leeds and it was on show once more on the weekend as they drew a blank against an out-of-form Chelsea side.

Leeds only managed two shots on target in the entire game, and no other stat is more demanding than the fact their goalkeeper -Illan Meslier - came the closest with a diving header right at the death.

The Whites have indeed had to cope without their top scorer Rodrigo as of late and also the injury-plagued Patrick Bamford for a large chunk of this season, but the former is hopeful of a return in the near future.

The Latest: Rodrigo could soon be returning

Hay has admitted on The Phil Hay Show that Rodrigo has been holding out hope he could return this weekend for Leeds' clash against Brighton.

He said: (7:45) "He was hopeful of being fit on this side of the international break, so I think he was optimistically crossing his fingers for Brighton this weekend, hoping definitely that he'd be back in the picture, back in the squad for Wolves the weekend after."

The Verdict: A fully fit Rodrigo could save Leeds

Rodrigo has been in scintillating form this season having netted 10 goals in the Premier League - his best return since joining for £26 million in 2020 - so for Javi Gracia to get someone back who's said to be a 'class above' anyone else at Leeds will only help their relegation battle.

The Leeds boss and top scorer missed out on working together during their time out in Valencia as Rodrigo was shipped off to Leeds before Gracia could really get his feet under the table, so the pair would likely be excited to finally work with one another.

Gracia has certainly been dealt a difficult hand since taking from Jesse Marsch just from the fact that he's been without the club's top scorer, but the fact that Rodrigo is hopeful of returning this weekend shows just how desperate he is to succeed and keep the Whites up this season.