The Joe Gelhardt mystery grows deeper as the young striker missed Leeds United under-23s' 1-0 win over Stoke City.
Gelhardt has now not featured since the turn of the year, with many expecting him to feature in Leeds' FA Cup third-round tie against Crawley earlier this month.
Gelhardt was absent from the Crawley matchday squad entirely, despite having scored five goals in nine games for the under-23s so far this season and impressing in the youth set-up.
Marcelo Bielsa did hand Sam Greenwood his first-team debut in the FA Cup third-round defeat and Gelhardt's continued absence from the under-23 set-up is strange. And now BBC journalist Adam Pope has only added more intrigue to the situation.
In response to a fan asking where Gelhardt has been, Pope said on Twitter: "I’m told he’s not injured."
Leeds under 23s' first game of the year was on January 11, the day after the FA Cup defeat to Crawley. A week later, Gelhardt was again absent.
The timeframe would fit in with the young prospect having tested positive for Covid-19. Protocols state that he must self-isolate and the clubs do not have to disclose which players have contracted the virus.
This, of course, is pure speculation, but it would offer a potential explanation as to why Gelhardt has been absent from the Leeds' set-up for several weeks without a clear reason provided from the club.
Leeds signed both Greenwood and Gelhardt in the summer as Victor Orta continues to prioritise youth recruitment, adding high-potential talent to the under-23 squad.
Earlier in the season, Bielsa spoke glowingly about the pair. "His [Greenwood's main position is as a centre-forward,” he said. "Normally he plays in conjunction with Gelhardt in the team.
"Gelhardt is a player who when he is close to the box he is very dangerous and Greenwood is a player who has a lot of capacity to arrive into the free spaces.
"They can play with either Gelhardt in front and Greenwood in behind or the other way around."
While Gelhardt was absent from the Leeds under 23s team, Diego Llorente made a goalscoring return to action.
He headed in Kalvin Phillips' cross at the back post to score the only goal of the match before being substituted at half-time.
Llorente has not featured for Leeds since a substitute appearance against Chelsea on December 5.
He suffered a groin injury while on international duty with Spain earlier in the season and has subsequently made a slow start to life at Elland Rd following his £18 million summer transfer.
