Leeds seek cash to replace injured Ross McCormack

Warnock wants Leeds to stretch their budget and sanction another signing in response to an appearance in Cardiff which brought customary disappointment and more pressure to bear on United’s squad.

The Welsh capital is no sanctuary for Leeds, who last won there in 1984, and second-half goals from Cardiff substitute Craig Bellamy and chief architect Peter Whittingham extended the trend of the past three decades.

Warnock felt aggrieved by United’s second defeat of the Championship season but spoke with greater concern about the twisted ankle suffered by McCormack and the muscle problem which forced the half-time substitution of left-back Adam Drury.

Drury is a doubt for tomorrow’s game against Hull City but might conceivably recover in time to play. McCormack’s injury is a more serious matter, too swollen to allow full prognosis over the weekend but unlikely to heal before the international break begins on October 7. The Scotland international will undergo scans this week.

Shortage

Though a shortage of transfer money has been evident at Elland Road for many weeks, Warnock used the emergency loan market to sign Stoke City’s Michael Tonge last Thursday, a deal made necessary by injuries to David Norris and Paul Green.

The United boss is now looking for Leeds to make additional cash available in the absence of McCormack, a player he described ruefully as “our only Bellamy.” Leeds were linked last week with a move for Stoke forward Cameron Jerome.

Asked how much scope he had to replace McCormack, Warnock said: “That I don’t know but I’ll be asking the question, obviously.

“We could do with another loan player now because of the injuries we’ve got and the number of games coming up. We know we’re a thin squad and I knew that if we got two or three injuries – which we have – it would put a lot of pressure on us.

“Ross has twisted his ankle quite severely. I don’t think there’s any break but we can’t see for all the swelling at the moment. I’d imagine he’d be out for a few weeks at least.”

Warnock warned some time ago that the size of his small squad might bring Leeds to this point, and Drury’s leg problem took to four the number of senior players affected by varying degrees of injury since the Championship season began on August 18.

The emergency loan market offered a reprieve of sorts after the last week of the summer window came and went without any movement at Elland Road, but the recruitment of Tonge on a 93-day deal from Stoke eased Warnock’s stress about the range of his resources for all of 48 hours.

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