Leeds United fans appear to have spotted that defender Gaetano Berardi is back in training following a period out injured.
Berardi tore his ACL in his knee during Leeds’ Championship game against Derby County in July and has been sidelined ever since.
The 32-year-old Swiss defender made 25 appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side in their promotion season and has been missed this campaign.
Earlier this season, Bielsa stated that February was the month in which Leeds hoped Berardi, who is out of contract in June, could make a return to the training pitch.
It seems that his recovery is on track, because a Leeds fan has spotted what appears to be Berardi at the Thorp Arch training ground in the background of a club video.
Leeds have struggled with injuries to their defensive group this season, with summer signings Diego Llorente and Robin Koch both spending time on the sidelines.
Llorente limped off just eight minutes into his first start for the club against Newcastle on Tuesday, while Koch underwent knee surgery in December after he limped off in the early stages of the defeat by Chelsea.
A return to full fitness for Berardi would therefore be a timely boost for Bielsa, who spoke about the defender, who joined the club from Sampdoria in 2014, ahead of the 2-1 win at Newcastle.
"Berardi will start to train with the group shortly,” he said.
“Whilst he had a serious knee injury which kept him out for a long time, many players have had this injury in the past and they have come back to play.
"His injury coincided with injuries to Koch, Llorente, Cooper and Phillips and we’ve managed to resolve this. And Forshaw's one although has been longer, we've also managed to resolve it with Klich, Dallas, Phillips, Shackleton and Pascal."
Adam Forshaw is also nearing a return to action, but Bielsa urged caution with the midfielder, who has been out of action since September 2019.
"The problem with Forshaw is a little longer," he said.
"He hasn’t played for over a year now and the medical decisions taken recently make us think that he will play again in the not-too-distant future.
“Forshaw is a professional who looks after his health very much. That’s why I think as soon as these injury problems are resolved he will be able to compete very quickly."
