Former Leeds United star Raphinha has reacted lovingly to Luke Ayling’s latest Instagram post.
Ayling made his first appearance at Elland Road this season as the Whites held on for a 0-0 draw this weekend despite being reduced to 10 men early in the second half.
The full-back made his first-team return away at Brentford prior to the international break and grabbed an assist during a 20-minute cameo after overcoming a knee injury.
His return was hailed as a silver lining on an otherwise disappointing day for the West Yorkshire club by journalist Beren Cross, and following his first outing in front of the home crowd at the weekend, Ayling took to Instagram to express his delight – to which Raphinha seemingly adored.
The experienced defender shared an image of himself in the game alongside the caption: ‘Always great to be back playing at Elland Road,’ which can be seen below:
TIF Thoughts on Ayling and Leeds…
Will Luke Ayling win his spot back in the starting team?
Yes
No
Leeds forked out £10m to sign Rasmus Kristensen, who has been holding down the right-back berth at Elland Road during Ayling’s absence and was replaced by the Whites stalwart in the second half against Aston Villa.
However, having previously been unable to defend his spot, the Englishman has given Jesse Marsch something to think about as he makes his way back to full fitness.
The 31-year-old has completed 1.5 dribbles per game compared to Kristensen’s 0.3 according to SofaScore and has made one assist compared to zero for the Dane – despite playing considerably fewer minutes.
Having played 222 times for the Whites and been a mainstay in the lineup for a number of years, Ayling has emerged as a trustworthy option and it appears that an ex-teammate is just as excited to see him back as much as the supporters will be.