Daniel Farke hopeful of avoiding unwanted Patrick Bamford hat-trick as Leeds United mystery baffles staff

Bamford is said to have picked up the issue during Leeds' 4-3 win over Middlesbrough last Monday and has been unable to train with the team since sustaining the knock, according to boss Daniel Farke.

The German remains hopeful Bamford can play some part in Leeds' 46th and final league fixture of the regular season but it remains somewhat unlikely the 30-year-old will feature from the start, if at all, against the Saints.

"Big question mark behind Patrick Bamford, more or less the same, no full team training, just individual work so far," Farke said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

"We expected him to be back earlier if I'm honest because there is no damage on the scan and not a real injury but the bruise affects the ligaments and for that he is still not capable to stretch his leg. We tried everything [in the] last days, also today with some injection therapy, was also a bit of a surprise that we are not capable to get this bruise out of his knee but it seems to be like an area on the knee where it's difficult to be treated manually.

"I hope that there is a chance to return back to team training tomorrow [Friday], if he's capable to do this, then we have a chance to have him available for Saturday. I'm not sure if he is then really ready to start the game because he has missed obviously a bit too much in the recent days but obviously we try everything."

Farke admits the issue has left he and his staff baffled, but reassured supporters there is no 'major injury' with some fans already having one eye on the Championship play-offs, wondering whether the No. 9 will be available for what appears to be a likely semi-final with whichever side finishes sixth in the table.

"[It] was also for us a bit of a surprise because it's no major injury. It's more like, a bit really unlucky. Because it's happened during the game, he had a sliding tackle against a post, I think it was. No one can be blamed for it and we try everything in order to have him back available," the manager added.

If Bamford is unable to take part in team training on Friday, he will not make Farke's matchday squad on Saturday, which would be the third season running the one-cap England international has been unavailable to Leeds on the final weekend of the season.

Two seasons ago, Bamford struggled throughout the campaign with ankle and hamstring injuries, before a ruptured plantar fascia in the player's foot ruled him out of the run-in as Leeds salvaged Premier League status at Brentford on the final day.

Last year, Bamford was forced off in the 34th minute of Leeds' penultimate match of the season with a hamstring injury and subsequently missed the last game at Elland Road against Tottenham Hotspur as United were relegated from the Premier League with a whimper.

Once more, Leeds go into the final weekend with their fate undecided. A win at Elland Road versus Southampton and a Huddersfield Town victory at Portman Road would see the Whites leapfrog Ipswich Town into second place, although the likelihood of doing so appears slim given Ipswich's home form and the Terriers' relegation already a foregone conclusion.