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Pakistan batter suffered an injury while trying to save a boundary off the second ball of the match

Danyal Rasool19-Feb-2025Pakistan’s Champions Trophy title defence got off to an inauspicious start, as Fakhar Zaman was forced off the field after two deliveries of their opening game against New Zealand in Karachi.New Zealand opener Will Young drove Shaheen Afridi through the covers to beat the infield, with Zaman setting off in pursuit. He cut it off before palming the ball to Babar Azam to throw it back to the keeper, but immediately appeared to feel discomfort in his lower back or side. He signalled that he needed to be replaced, and went off the field with the physio, though he walked unaided back to the dressing room.”Fakhar Zaman is being assessed and examined for a muscular sprain and further updates will be provided in due course,” the PCB said in a statement shortly after.Fakhar came back on the field after spending a little more than two hours off it, which prevented him from opening Pakistan’s chase of 321. Saud Shakeel opened with Babar Azar and Fakhar only came in at the fall of Mohammed Rizwan in the tenth over. He had been deprived of any batting time with the fielding restrictions in place, when his reputation for power hitting could have come in handy for Pakistan.Almost from the outset, though, it was apparent he would be unable to make that sort of contribution. He was unsteady on his feet and visibly struggling with running between the wickets. On more than one occasion, he slumped to his knees between overs, with the team doctor and physio coming on with painkillers. While he attempted to play the attacking strokes the match situation required with the asking rate ever-rising, it was something of a tortured knock. He managed 24 off 41 before he tried to sweep Michael Bracewell – a shot he a deployed throughout the innings – only to miss completely and see his stumps shattered.Pakistan had been hampered by an injury to Saim Ayub in similar circumstances, one that ultimately kept him out of the Champions Trophy. In a Test against South Africa, he set off in pursuit of a ball to the boundary and ended up twisting his ankle. It resulted in a fracture that will keep him out until at least the middle of March. Fakhar, who until then wasn’t part of Pakistan’s ODI plans, came back into the side as Ayub’s replacement, and made an impressive return, scoring 84 off 69 and 41 off 28 in his first two matches back in the side.Pakistan did, however, get a fitness-related boost before the game with Haris Rauf fit enough to start. He had pulled up with a side strain in the opening game of the triangular series these two sides took part in over the last fortnight along with South Africa. That day had also seen a New Zealand player struck down with injury, when Rachin Ravindra lost the trajectory of a hit while fielding at the boundary, which ended up hitting him flush on the forehead. He needed stitches, and though he trained yesterday and New Zealand have said that he showed no signs of delayed concussion, he did not play against Pakistan. He was seen running drinks to New Zealand’s batters, though.The game marked the return of ICC tournament cricket to Pakistan after 1996, with huge crowds building up outside the National Stadium in Karachi in the hours before the start. The opening ceremony was attended by Pakistan’s president Asif Ali Zardari and had an air force fly-past parade after the toss, which Pakistan won and asked New Zealand to bat.

Centurion reflects on the moment he knew Australia were broken before his own wave of emotions breaks

Andrew Miller14-Jun-20251:53

Steyn on SA’s WTC win: ‘We saw the biggest of the biggest come through’

Aiden Markram’s long walk back to the pavilion at the end of his epic, trophy-seizing century, ought by rights to have been one of the proudest, most self-reflective moments of his life.With a mere six runs still needed for World Test Championship glory, here was his chance to soak in the moment, and stride off the hallowed turf of Lord’s with a salute to all corners. Surely, with 136 fourth-innings runs to his name, Markram knew in his heart of hearts (if not quite in his frontal cortex) that he was the man who had just exorcised some 30 years of South Africa big-stage failure.That wasn’t quite how the man himself allowed the moment to unfold, however.”I wish I could have,” he said. “But that’s me being me when I get out. I’m always angry.”At least looking at the building in front was pretty special. And then, naturally, the walk up [the stairs] was incredibly special. So at least there’s one or two memories from that.”Related

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• Bavuma still unbeaten as captain as South Africa end 9722-day wait with WTC title

Markram’s reaction was perhaps the final vestige of South Africa’s suspension of belief. Despite all of the well-worn caveats that the nation has learned to factor into impending glory, the thronging support in the stands had long since abandoned their reticence. Perhaps the biggest clue that the game was up, however, came from the reaction of Australia’s own fielders.Travis Head’s sharp take at midwicket created barely a flicker of recognition. For most people in the crowd, the first inkling that Markram was out came as he clasped his own helmet in agony and turned on his heel. But soon afterwards it was clear, as one by one, the Australians trooped up to shake his hand. It was wonderfully magnanimous in the moment, but their body language wasn’t just beaten, but broken.”I noticed it for sure,” Markram said. “Obviously, it was a great touch from their side. There’s quite a bit of banter had on the field. But all is well that ends well, I guess. It’s always nice to be appreciated from that position.”Perhaps he’s still in a trance, still locked into the duty of delivering an innings that, by every conceivable measure – grandness of occasion, fourth innings, and against a relentless attack of unprecedented quality and longevity – earns it the right to be considered the greatest Test innings ever produced by a South African.”Nothing’s hit me just yet, so maybe that’s a good thing, but something needs to hit me soon, to get out all the emotions, because it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.”It was Aiden Markram’s third fourth-innings hundred•ICC/Getty Images

But there was a moment, as Markram marched through to his century late on the third evening, when the mask cracked and the enormity of his performance seemed ready to engulf him. With a stiff upper lip that would doubtless have earned the approval of the many English public-school boys in the stands, he quickly gulped down his emotions – though not without ducking a request for a close-of-play word to the cameras – and reset himself to perform his duty.”Yeah, it was weird last night. I was pretty emotional,” he said. “From about quarter past five, the game had slowed down. I had a bit of time to look around and see all the fans, the family, all the mates that were there … I was looking at the changing room. I was like, ‘Yes, we are now getting close’, and it caught me off guard. Then the hundred happened, and a couple of tears leaked out that I was trying to fight.”Markram reached the close on 102 not out and, with just 69 runs still to get on the final day, he went on to sleep “horribly”.”I tried to take a sleeping tablet, it didn’t work,” he said. “The mind just couldn’t switch off. But fortunately, today wasn’t ever going to be a full day, so I knew it would be fine.”Markram went the full journey in the course of this contest. Way back on that frenzied opening day, he epitomised South Africa’s hunger with his highly-strung display in the slips – first, by being the distraction as he dived across David Bedingham from second slip, then by clinging on as Wiaan Mulder repeated the dose from third, as Kagiso Rabada cranked open the contest with two Australian wickets in four balls.Later that day, his lesser-heralded offspin extracted a well-set Steven Smith for 66, and on the stroke of lunch on Friday, he finally ended Australia’s dogged tenth-wicket stand as Josh Hazlewood holed out to cover.In between whiles, however, he had also fallen for a sixth-ball duck in South Africa’s ropey start to their batting display. And, having made 4 from five balls as captain in Barbados last June, as South Africa’s last appearance in an ICC final fell agonisingly short of glory, he admitted that the urge to stay in the moment was his single biggest driver, when his chance came again to steer his country’s fortunes.Aiden Markram got a well-deserved drink from a friend in the stands•PA Images via Getty Images

“I thought a lot about the T20 World Cup last night and how hopeless I felt sitting on the side after getting out,” he said. “I was like, I don’t want to sit there again. So, this gave me a bit of motivation to make sure I stayed at the crease, if I could. But never once thought about the achievements and what would come with it. It was always about just trying to get the job done and trying to win.”That mindset meant that, throughout his game-breaking 147-run stand with Temba Bavuma, there was never any question about backing up his captain’s desire to soldier on, even after his left hamstring gave way just six runs into his critical knock of 66 that spanned three-and-a-quarter hours.”To see his hammy go was obviously a bit worrying,” Markram said. “We got to tea, and he said he felt he could still keep going, but he wanted to know from my side if the twos becoming ones would affect me.”I said, ‘there’s no chance’. It’s about the partnership, staying out there for longer, getting the ball even softer, even older, and that’s exactly what he did. He still managed to run twos and threes, so I think there was a lot of adrenaline there, but he showed a lot of leadership and character. Maybe not the big, big numbers, but the ones that really make a difference, and that was tremendous for us.”Besides being his most important innings, this was also Markram’s third century in five Tests against Australia, a team against whom he is clearly primed to raise his game. “Australians and South Africans are pretty similar,” he said. “They play the game hard, they play the game to compete, they play the game to really win, and it brings out the best in us. It’s just a battle between two teams that really don’t have any interest in losing.”And now, South Africa are the World Test Champions – an accolade earned in spite of the many well-documented brickbats they faced in the build-up, both in terms of their unusual route to this final, as well as the baggage that such a contest brings with it. “It’s as big and as tough as it gets,” Markram said. “All the questions that have been asked in the past have fortunately now been answered.”And now, at the very last, perhaps he’ll get his chance to savour the moment, now that he has lived it to the fullest. The first inkling of this occurred in the moments before the presentation, amid the melee on the outfield, and the tears and euphoria of his team-mates.Markram was beckoned by a familiar face in the stands, and after some initial hesitation, he trotted over to let his personal party begin.”Yeah, that was cool,” he said. “That was one of my mates from school. He wanted me to come over. And I was like, ‘man, I can’t, it’s too busy. It’s chaos’. And then he was like, ‘Oh, here’s a beer’ … and I was like, okay! I’ve had my first one for today, and I’m pretty sure there’ll be a few more.”

Ubaid Shah, the brother of Pakistan international Naseem, and left-arm wristspinner Faisal Akram were also picked in the 18-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2025Saud Shakeel will lead Pakistan Shaheens who will tour England for two three-day and three 50-over games from July 17 to August 6. Apart from Shakeel, who has played 19 Tests, the squad includes three capped players: Mir Hamza, Musa Khan and Sajid Khan.Azan Awais and Maaz Sadaqat, who were the top-two run-getters in the 2024-25 Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) trophy, were rewarded for their domestic form with call-ups to the Shaheens side.Musabir Khan, a prominent offspin-bowling allrounder in the QeA trophy, and Faisal Akram, a left-arm wristspinner, who has played for Pakistan Under-19s and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), were also included in the 18-member squad. Musabir, 23, has played a solitary T20I for Pakistan, in the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.Sajid and left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz strengthen the spin attack. Ubaid Shah, the brother of international Naseem Shah, was part of the pace attack alongside Mushtaq Ahmed and Shahid Aziz.The squad will take part in a training camp at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi before departing for England on July 16.

Pakistan Shaheens squad

Saud Shakeel (capt), Ali Zaryab, Azan Awais, Faisal Akram, Haider Ali, Maaz Sadaqat, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Suleman, Mubasir Khan, Musa Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Omair Bin Yousuf, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Sajid Khan, Shahid Aziz, Shamyl Hussain and Ubaid Shah

Support staff

Imran Farhat (head coach), Rehan Riaz (bowling coach), Mohtashim Rasheed (fielding coach)

Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly and Matt Kuhnemann have been drafted into the squad for the three ODIs

Andrew McGlashan14-Aug-2025

Mitchell Owen took a blow from Kagiso Rabada•AFP/Getty Images

Mitchell Owen has been ruled out of the deciding T20I against South Africa and the ODI series which follows due to concussion after being struck on the helmet by Kagiso Rabada in Darwin.Owen passed an on-field assessment after being hit on the grille second ball but then reported delayed symptoms after being dismissed. He will enter a mandatory stand-down period of at least 12 days meaning he will miss the chance of an ODI debut.Fast bowler Lance Morris and allrounder Matt Short will also miss the ODI series which starts next Tuesday with Aaron Hardie, Cooper Connolly and Matt Kuhnemann called into the squad.Related

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Morris reported back soreness as he prepared for the series which would have marked an international return and will be a concerning development for a player with a history of back problems. He has returned to Perth for further assessment and his participation in the four-day leg of the Australia A tour of India may now be in doubt.Short, meanwhile, still has not recovered from the side strain he picked up in West Indies. He was initially ruled out of the first two T20Is against South Africa, but he now won’t be available for any of the matches. It continues a disrupted run to Short’s international career after he suffered a quad injury during the Champions Trophy earlier this year.South Africa leveled the T20I series with a 53-run victory on Tuesday with the decider taking place in Cairns on Saturday. The city then hosts the opening ODI on August 19 with the final two matches in Mackay on August 22 and 24.Hardie, the Western Australia allrounder, had already been drafted into the T20I squad as cover for Short. Left-arm spinner Kuhnemann previously played four ODIs in 2022 and his call-up means Australia could field a twin spin attack alongside Adam Zampa.Connolly, the left-handed batter and left-arm spinner, was called into Australia’s Champions Trophy squad earlier this year and played the semi-final against India.Josh Inglis missed the second T20I with “flu-like” symptoms with Alex Carey called into the squad and playing his first match in the format since 2021.

Updated Australia ODI squad

Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Adam Zampa

The Asia Cup final went down to the wire as Tilak calmly helped India chase down 147

Alagappan Muthu28-Sep-20253:17

Which Indian spinner had the biggest impact?

India blinked. They were 20 for 3 chasing 147. Their world-beating batting line-up was panicking as Pakistan came at them – this time for every reason because there was a title on the line.A collapse of 9 for 33 had left Salman Agha’s men with no room for error and for the most part they coped with it. They got rid of Abhishek Sharma early. That sent jitters through a middle-order that was upended to accommodate Shubman Gill.A straightforward chase was going pear-shaped. And Tilak Varma felt all of this out in the middle. The quiet of the stands. The belief among the Pakistan players. The doubts of a billion people back home. Somehow he absorbed it all and produced a really special half-century.Concentrating as hard as he had to, there wasn’t a single moment through the innings where Tilak showed emotion. But once it was done, he yelled, he punched, he made little heart signs with his hands and basked in the glory of winning India their ninth Asia Cup title.

Farhan’s opening salvo

This entire Asia Cup has been a referendum on Pakistan’s decision to move on from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. There is credence to the theory that they do not push hard enough when they bat up the order, and the powerplay is not a time to be shy.Sahibzada Farhan went for his shots early•Getty Images

Sahibzada Farhan took that to heart and although he didn’t always come up with the goods, he never stopped swinging. A series of slogs took him to 26 off 21. And those same series of slogs – when they started connecting – brought him 50 off 35.

The Pakistan collapse

Farhan and Fakhar Zaman were able to put one of India’s bankers – Kuldeep Yadav – under pressure. The left-arm wristspinner’s first two overs went for 23. That prompted Suryakumar Yadav to turn to Varun Chakravarthy, whose mystery Pakistan have just not been able to solve. As if on cue, he took down both of Pakistan’s top scorers. Farhan and Fakhar were the only two to cross 15.On the back of Varun’s incisions, his team-mates came into their own. Axar Patel took two wickets in back-to-back overs. Kuldeep took three in one single over. Pakistan were 107 for 1 with 44 balls to play. They were bowled out with five balls remaining. A large part of their innings involved the batters going for slogs. In the front 10, they either made good contact or just plain missed. So just one wicket fell. In the back 10, the big hits were all mis-hits. So nine wickets fell.

Tilak’s method

Where all his team-mates tried to force the issue, Tilak found ways to trust himself. He was 24 off 26. But he didn’t seem to care. Early in his innings, he hit a back foot punch though extra cover for four off Ashraf. There was no pace on that ball. The only way he could find the boundary was if he timed the ball perfectly. And for that to happen, he had to have the measure of this pitch down pat. He did.Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube’s brisk stand lifted India•Getty Images

That confidence fuelled the rest of his innings, reminding him that he needn’t over-exert himself. India had to settle for either singles or dots through the eighth and ninth overs of the chase as Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub stuck to the basics – keeping the stumps in play and asking India to take risks if they wanted to score quickly. Tilak rose to that challenge but even then, he was careful to go after the full one, the one that he could get to the pitch of and negate the turn. All that good work meant even with long-on in play, the ball went for six.In the 15th over, Tilak did another cool thing. With wickets falling around him, he had shown he was ready for a fight. In rebuilding India’s innings with barely a false shot, he showed he was in the zone. Now, seeing Haris Rauf running in, he showed a mind for problem-solving. He had seen how hard it was to hit with pace off the ball. Now that Pakistan were offering pace, he took full toll. Seventeen runs came from that 15th over and changed the complexion of the game. From needing 64 off 36, India needed 47 off 30.

Dube cameo

India were without their first-choice seam-bowling allrounder. Hardik Pandya was nursing a quad niggle and couldn’t make the XI. Shivam Dube did, after resting the last game. He was responsible for two absolutely vital sixes. The first of those showcased his spin-hitting ability as he tonked Abrar down the ground. The second exemplified how well he reads the game. He had faced, and watched from the other end, as Ashraf in the 19th over, tried to hide the ball outside off stump. So when he got back on strike, he indulged in an exaggerated trigger movement across his stumps to get closer to the ball and launch it over wide long-on. Dube contributed 33 off 22 to a momentum-shifting, match-winning, fifth-wicket partnership that yielded 60 runs off 40 balls. He also had to open the bowling for the first time in any format of cricket, finishing with 3-0-23-0. It was a splendid day’s work.

The finish

These three India-Pakistan games have taken place under the shadow of far greater events. The two countries were in military conflict earlier this year. The two teams have not shaken hands. The two captains have even been avoiding eye contact. Rauf was fined for making gestures that seemed to point to those cross-border tensions. Jasprit Bumrah used the same gesture – hand pointed down, arcing to the floor – to give it back to Rauf after bringing down his stumps with a yorker.Tilak Varma celebrates a tense victory•AFP/Getty Images

The highly charged atmosphere that has been taking focus away from the cricket now added to it. The two coaches – Mike Hesson and Gautam Gambhir – would not accept being left on the sidelines, sending out messages to help the teams as the equation grew tighter. 30 off 18. 17 off 12. 10 off 6.With eight to get off five, Tilak launched a six over square leg – once more showcasing just how well he had grown accustomed to tough batting conditions and Rauf once again falling short by putting pace on the ball. Everything that happened after that will be turned into a meme. Tilak making the heart sign. Rinku Singh haring off into the distance. Gambhir banging a desk. This was an India-Pakistan classic worth the 41-year wait both teams needed to make the final of the Asia Cup.

That will open up fresh possibilities for Sri Lankan cricket with day-night Tests becoming more viable in the country

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Nov-2025The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground in Colombo will get floodlights and other upgrades in preparation for the Men’s T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosts with India in February and March next year. Although the SSC has occasionally hosted daytime limited-overs internationals – especially women’s games – Colombo’s day-night games have all been played at Khettarama (R Premadasa Stadium), which in any case is the highest-capacity stadium in the country.SSC’s first match that will require lights will be the T20 World Cup Group B game between Oman and Zimbabwe, scheduled to start at 3pm local time on February 9. It is one of five matches the SSC is due to host at this World Cup. The first of those – between Netherlands and Pakistan on February 7 – will begin at 11am local time whereas the third fixture – between Pakistan and USA on February 10 – is the only match there to start at 7pm local time. Khettarama is set to host at least eight matches, and possibly the first semi-final and the final if Pakistan make it that far. Pallekele, the only Sri Lanka World Cup venue not in Colombo, will host seven games.Building floodlights at the SSC will open up fresh possibilities for Sri Lankan cricket with day-night Tests becoming more viable in the country. Although Khettarama is the preferred limited-overs venue in Colombo, the SSC and the P Sara Oval are still preferred for Tests, owing partly to their reputation for being boutique Test venues.Related

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Sri Lanka has never hosted a day-night Test, but Sri Lanka’s Test captains have also asked their board to arrange such a fixture, over the years.SLC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that floodlights construction were already under way at the SSC.The ICC announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, with the tournament set to run from February 7 to March 8 across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.

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Everton’s official Twitter account wished former striker Kevin Campbell, who turned out on 147 occasions for the club and managed 45 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2005, a happy birthday on Monday and Toffees fans were quick to react.

Campbell started his professional career with Arsenal, but departed the Gunners in 1995 for Nottingham Forest, before also representing Trabzonspor ahead of a move to Everton.

It would be fair to say that the striker was a popular figure at Goodison Park and he certainly knew how to find the back of the net.

Everton do not really have a starting striker at the moment, which has placed incredible pressure on Richarlison to continue gettingon the score-sheet.

Indeed, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Cenk Tosun have both struggled for goals this season and the Everton fans would not mind having Campbell back.

He may now be 49 years of age, but a number of Toffees supporters feel that the former striker could still do a job for the team in the final third of the field.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Due to Aaron’s Ramsey seemingly imminent departure in the summer, a big void will be created in Arsenal’s midfield, which is dependent on his creativity. However, the Gunners are already looking for replacements and have found on in Paris-Saint Germain’s Christopher Nkunku.

According to reports (from David Ornstein via the Sun), the 21-year-old midfielder is on Arsenal’s radar. Nkunku has been given opportunities by Thomas Tuchel, having made 13 appearances for PSG so far. The young midfielder is composed in possession, recording a 91% passing accuracy so far and is versatile in adapting to his team’s system.

The Gunnars tried and failed to sign him in January, but may be more confident of landing him in the summer, especially considering FFP’s potential impact on proceedings in the French capital.  If a similar deal like they did with Matteo Guendouzi can be found, the Gunnars will have struck gold. Apart from being sensible defensively, Nkunku is also confident going forward and although not as refined as Ramsey, can create chances if given the chance.

He might have only scored and assisted one goal apiece for the menacing French champions but is an assured figure who helps his side retain possession and distributes it around really well. Nkunku can turn defence into attack quickly and is a hard-working midfielder, who knows how to win back possession.

With the Gunners already having signed two young midfielders in Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira, Nkunku can complete the perfect trifecta. Unai Emery’s project is dependent on the long-term. If Arsenal sign another rising talent like the Frenchman, they’re assured to reap their rewards in the near-future.

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Birmingham City are in a rich vein of goalscoring form ahead of their clash against Bolton Wanderers at St Andrew’s on Tuesday.

Garry Monk’s side are beginning to establish themselves as an outside candidate to sneak into the play-offs following their recent run of form.

The Blues have claimed seven points from a possible nine and scored nine goals in the process, with Che Adams continuing to thrive at the spearhead of the attack.

But the 22-year-old’s form in recent weeks has been aided by the notable improvement in Jota’s form in midfield. The Spanish playmaker – valued at £4.05 million per Transfermarkt – scored the opener while operating at the tip of the diamond against Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 win recently before he caused further damage when drifting infield at Loftus Road last time out.

He dissected QPR’s defensive line with a delicious through ball into Adam’s path to provide the assist for his team’s second, but his role in the four first-half goals really showcased his huge quality at this level.

Jota rounded off a neat piece of interplay with a curled finish from distance which unfortunately crashed off the post, but the ball eventually found its way into the net on the rebound courtesy of Adams.

There have been times when the Spaniard’s role in the side has been questioned but his recent performances have underlined his importance to Birmingham’s success; when Jota plays well so do his attacking-minded teammates.

It seems that Monk has found a system which allows the 27-year-old’s playmaking expertise to shine through, and that must continue against the Wanderers on Tuesday to ensure City extend their winning run to three games on the bounce.

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Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Phil Hay says Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa will be looking for two things following the news that Kemar Roofe has suffered a knee ligament injury.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Whites’ top goalscorer this season sustained the injury in the 2-1 win against Swansea City at Elland Road last weekend, which has since been confirmed to be a knee issue.

Hay wrote in the Yorkshire Evening Post that the indications from the Yorkshire outfit are that the 26-year-old will be out for weeks rather than months, which suggests he should still play some part in their run-in.

In the meantime however, Bielsa has to find a solution to the key man’s absence, with winger Jack Clarke also currently sidelined having collapsed on the substitutes’ bench during the 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium earlier this month.

That is something that hasn’t escaped Hay’s attention, as he wrote: “Without him [Roofe], Bielsa is left looking for two things: an alternative number 10 and sharp finishing from Bamford.”

Will the Argentine get things sorted?

He should do, yes.

The experienced coach has had to deal with injury after injury and suspension after suspension to some of his most important Leeds players this season, yet they are still third in the Championship standings.

Bielsa will be confident that he can get Bamford on the goal trail in the coming weeks given what he has shown at this level before and in recent weeks for the Whites, and he certainly needs the 25-year-old to step things up in front of goal, with Roofe having twice as many efforts at goal as he did against the Swans.

Meanwhile, in Tyler Roberts, Pablo Hernandez and even Mateusz Klich he has the alternative No.10 options available, and with the right work on the training pitch United will be just fine without an important star – as they have been on so many other occasions this term.