Daniel Farke has admitted the injury blow to Pascal Struijk has left him concerned and will therefore remain open to transfer opportunities for defenders in the window if the centre-back is out for longer than first thought.

Leeds United will be without Struijk for at least three weeks with a hamstring injury after scans produced results more negative than anticipated.

He will be assessed next week but Farke warned that he could be out for as long as three months if it becomes apparent that his tendon that has been impacted.

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Speaking at Thorp Arch on Friday, Leeds boss Farke said: “He is our vice captain and rock. We always score more goals when he is on the pitch. He is a very important player for us. It is a bit of a concern for myself.

“We will stay awake until the end of the window. If there is a big injury to one of our key players, we may be forced to react. We need to assess Pascal's injury. If it's just three weeks then we might not need to [bring in reinforcement].”

Meanwhile, Farke detailed the reason behind the decision to let Joe Gelhardt leave on loan to Hull City this week. The striker had not played since October 1 having barely played 10 league minutes all season.

Farke stated: “For Joffy, he is struggling for game time for months. His behaviour was always professional. It is valuable for us for him to have game time.

“He [wanted] to find a solution to find more game time. Because his behaviour was always professional, we allowed him to go out on loan. Overall, I'm very happy with my squad.

“January is always more complicated than the summer. We have to stay away. I'm happy Max Wober is back but we have to manage his load. He is training more regularly. We will not fall asleep if there is a solution.”