Leeds fans can breathe a big sigh of relief, with the news that Beckord is making good progress on his way back from injury.

The striker completed a full training session with the club's first-team squad yesterday and is likely to be able to take his place in the side Monday night's play-off first leg. Beckford limped out of the game at Leyton Orient on April 5, and although he started against Carlisle the following Saturday, it was obvious he had come back too soon, as he failed to finish that game and hasn’t played for Leeds since.

As a precaution he wore a leg brace when he came to watch Saturday’s game against Gillingham, but it wasn’t as bad as it looked and he was back in training on Tuesday. Gary McAllister told the Yorkshire Post "He trained and he looked fine. He'll have a day's rest and then we'll be back in on Saturday and Sunday. Fingers crossed on that one." Provided Becks comes safely through those weekend sessions, he is expected to be back in the starting line-up against Carlisle.

Which is excellent news, as although we finished the season in much better form than the Cumbrians, we’re not so far ahead of them that we can guarantee to beat them without our leading goalscorer. Alan Thompson is also likely to be available after recovering from his latest calf strain, so Leeds could be at full strength, with the exception of the injured Sheehan. McAllister said "Everybody's fit and raring to go. There's a nice edge to training and competition's fierce."

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