Bakke aiming for July return
Leeds United's injured midfielder Eirik Bakke is hoping to return to the club for The Whites' pre-season in July after injury ruled him out for the remainder of the term.
The Norwegian international spent the first half of the campaign on the sidelines after undergoing knee surgery, while a thigh strain is now keeping him out of Leeds' battle against the drop.
Bakke rested the strain for over seven weeks, after scoring and being forced out of Leeds' 2-2 home draw against Liverpool, but his comeback against Blackburn failed to bear fruit.
"I need peace and quiet now," said Bakke to Bergens Tidende. "The goal is to train well at home during the summer.
"I will make use of the facilities that there are in Sogndal and train with the team. I hope to be completely ready for the pre-season campaign with Leeds in July.
"This has been on the cards for a while. I tested myself for half an hour against Blackburn, but it didn't work. The injury is no better. I'm afraid I may even have made it worse.
"It will be hard avoiding relegation. I think we need to win three games to save ourselves.
"We've got Bolton, Chelsea and Arsenal away, so it will not be easy. The hope is that we win our two home games."
Bakke is hoping a strong start to the new season with Leeds will be enough for him to regain his place in the national side ahead of their World Cup qualifiers.
"The important games for Norway start in September, I want to be a part of the team then," he added. "I need to be 100 percent to play for Norway when the qualifiers start."
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