“Yes, he’s ready to start,” is what Daniel Farke said of Pascal Struijk ahead of Sheffield United on Monday. It’s perhaps the question many Leeds United fans bouncing out of Elland Road had been asking.

The defender had played the full 90 minutes against Millwall in the FA Cup defeat nine days earlier but that was in a much-changed side and in different circumstances. He missed a penalty in that game and questions can still be asked about why he was allowed to take it so soon after coming back from injury.

His hamstring setback was why Farke was hesitant to start him against Sunderland on Monday. “I was thinking, to bring a centre-back for the first time in a long time into a game when you have to defend counter attacks against Wilson Isidor, it's a bit difficult,” the boss explained.

READ MORE: Illan Meslier’s Sunderland taunt and Farke’s celebration slip in Leeds United moments missed

READ MORE: ‘Sorry coach!’ - Leeds United player sends hilarious message to Daniel Farke after celebration

Supporters will be keen for Struijk to start his first league match since New Year’s Day against Sheffield United given what they saw in the 20-odd minutes he was on the pitch for on Monday.

In between his goals, the 25-year-old added more balance to the team, allowing Ethan Ampadu to reprise his midfield anchor role. Struijk snuffed out any attempts of a Sunderland breakaway with the Black Cats hardly getting a sniff after he came on.

United ended the match with close to their strongest starting XI on the pitch and the side came up trumps in dramatic fashion, in part thanks to another substitute. “He’s kind of our unsung hero,” Joe Rodon said of double assist-provider Joe Rothwell after full-time.

Struijk will grab the headlines for his headers but Rothwell should equally get the plaudits. His two magnificent assists were the best deliveries of the evening, the last of which was from his weaker left foot.

It prompted Farke to brand the Bournemouth loanee a “pure baller” in his post-match press conference. “For him to come on and change the game - yeah, I'm not surprised,” Rodon also added.

But, naturally, it was Struijk who was handed the man of the match award by TV after full-time, and it is his name which will bear bright when fans reflect on the scoresheet in later years. Farke outlined afterwards that he had indeed thrown on Struijk with set-pieces in mind.

“Today I brought two midfielders off and brought a midfielder and a centre-back on - normally this [would be] against the tide, but the feeling was that we needed to score from a set-piece,” Farke explained.

“I always back Joe Rothwell to be the best set-piece taker in our team and Pascal also the best target in terms of scoring out of set-pieces. We are not the tallest side so to have him on the pitch is always crucial.”

And so it proved, and dramatically so. His stint at both ends was telling - the surety of having him at the back and also his ability to head the ball in.

The joy is high right now, and rightfully so, but for the first 70 minutes of the game, United failed to find that final ball. They needed a plan B.

While the Whites are the top scorers in the league, Leeds had only netted two headers out of their 66 Championship goals prior to the match.

Struijk’s brace doubled that tally for the campaign and showed Leeds what they have been missing aerially without really knowing it. His teammates are thankful for what he offers.

In the words of Rodon: “Pascal’s an absolute head-magnet.”