Injuries have been a recurring theme for Leeds United in the Premier League and a particular frustration for Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine has been without his captain Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips for a three-game stretch, Diego Llorente for the vast majority of the season and now Robin Koch too.
Spanish centre-back Llorente has suffered another injury setback, keeping him out of Leeds' next couple of fixtures, while Koch will be absent until the Spring of 2021 at the very earliest after undergoing knee surgery.
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds ahead of the Whites' 2-1 defeat to West Ham this weekend, Kalvin Phillips disclosed just how important the centre-back duo are to the Leeds United dressing room, despite not having played together yet.
"Robin is a massive miss. I think this season he's been unbelievable for us.
"I think he found it tough at the start but I think he's grown into the team as if he's been here for years."
Phillips described the pair's complimentary qualities, both to centre-back partner Cooper's game, and his own. It shows Kalvin already has a grasp on what his new teammates are good at, which can only bode well for when Bielsa's squad - and defence - can boast a clean bill of health.
Phillips suggested the supporters were yet to see the very best of Llorente, which is reason for encouragement considering his debut against Chelsea was relatively solid.
"There's a lot of positives from his game that I see and obviously what the fans see as well, so I think there's a lot more to come from Diego.
"As you've seen, Diego likes playing the ball through lines and likes driving forward and doing the cross-field passes so he doesn't necessarily need me there to do that," Phillips added, astutely assessing his new teammate's game.
The prospect of not having Koch's apparent solidity, or Llorente's progressiveness in defence has ramifications for the rest of Leeds' squad. Luke Ayling will be expected to deputise in central defence, which drastically limits Leeds' ability to progress the ball forwards in wide areas.
Against West Ham, Ayling carried the ball more yards than any other Whites player, according to FBRef.com, suggesting there will be a noticeable reduction in Leeds' effectiveness out wide.
Kalvin's comments highlighted just how vital Koch and Llorente will be on their return to full fitness, at the very least as additional bodies.
More pertinently, he drew on the pair's international experience, noting a combined 13 caps for Germany and Spain.
It is hoped the duo - particularly Llorente - can be mended as quickly as possible; evidence from the West Ham contest showed that Leeds were not the same side without either one of them.
