Patrick Bamford's injury woes have made him more of a Leeds United team player, argues manager Daniel Farke

When Gareth Southgate sent Bamford on as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra on his 28th birthday, it was recognition that a striker once typecast as a Championship goalscorer had transferred his talents to the Premier League.

But fast forward 824 days and Bamford is only 22 league starts and four goals better off. None of either have come this season, when he finds himself a back-up striker back in the second tier, unable to dislodge Georginio Rutter as he struggles to regain form and rhythm.

But if injury issues causing groin surgery and plantar fasciitis have held back Bamford the player, he has become more important to his club in other ways according to Farke.

The No 9 can traditionally be the most selfish member of a team and whilst Bamford was never that – Marcelo Bielsa would not have countenanced a player like that leading the line for him – having to watch from the sidelines far more often than he would like has brought out a more generous side in the eyes of his current manager Farke.

"Especially in my younger years I was also struggling when I was not the main man and came on for a few minutes, it's never that easy," admitted the former striker.

"One good outcome of many individual setbacks in terms of injuries is you can be a bit more relaxed about these situations and happy for your team-mates.

"When I speak about Patrick I can't praise his character enough because he's always the first one who celebrates with Georgie and Joel (Rutter) when they score and even in training they have so much fun together.

"At half-time he sometimes goes to a young player like Geoirginio Rutter and gives him some hints about his movements and what he can do better.

"I'm quite pleased especially in the offensive players that we have so many who judge themselves as a bit like a special squad.

"This was the message I gave at the start of the season because I'm not out for the golden boot this year. It's not important we win individual awards, it's just important we are successful as a team.

"Sometimes in the last games I've substituted Joel or Georgie to give them a little bit of rest and keep them fresh over this period. Quite often in the last minutes of the game you can score the biggest amount of your goals when your opponent is the most tired.

"They want to score as many goals as possible but they are not addicted to individual scorelines, they're just addicted to team success."

But if being a cheerleader was all there was to Bamford's job, Farke could pluck any one of thousands from the Elland Road stands to do it just as well.

What Bamford also has is the pedigree which means whoever gets the nod in front of him knows they have to keep delivering to retain the shirt.

"It's no coincidence he has an England call-up and had double-figure goals the last time we played in this league and his first Premier League season was at the top level," Farke is careful to stress.

"For him it's always important he stays fit and his body had to deal with a lot in the last couple of years.

"It's never easy then from the mental side because, especially as an offensive player, you need to be in your rhythm.

"He missed our last (pre-season) friendly and the first part of the season he wasn't able to train with us. It was a bit unlucky for him that our offensive players were delivering so many end products and so many good performances that he was struggling to get more minutes.

"It's a bit difficult when you just get 20 or 30 minutes but he always looked quite sharp, or at least in most of his appearances he did.

"Our offensive players know they can't afford to give two or three per cent less because a quality player with many skills like Patrick is available."

Leeds will be without Ian Poveda for Saturday's match at Blackburn Rovers, plus those against Sunderland and Coventry City because he has been called up for Colombia friendlies against against Venezuela and Mexico.

Because the games fall outside of an official FIFA window for internationals, the Whites would be quite entitled to say no, but Farke thinks it will be better for them if the uncapped player joins up.

"It could give him a big boost and we wanted to give him the opportunity and get the benefit if he comes back full of confidence," said Farke.

"Imagine what would have happened if we didn't do this. He might have trained without motivation and the sign it would send to him that we don't care about his wishes and his individual career.

"Let's say something strange happens with injuries we still have a chance to call him back."