Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford could miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a ruptured plantar fascia in the sole of his foot.
The 28-year-old has been plagued with injuries throughout this season and has been reduced to just 10 appearances across all competitions as a result.
Bamford, who was withdrawn in the 23rd minute of Leeds' 3-2 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month, has now been ruled out for a "minimum of six weeks", meaning the striker is unlikely to play any part in the club's final eight fixtures as they fight for Premier League survival.
A statement from Leeds' Head of Medicine and Performance, Rob Price, read: "As all of the stats show, Patrick has put his body on the line for Leeds United for a number of seasons, he has played with a plantar fascia injury for the last 12 months and despite treatment and a prolonged period of rehabilitation, the injury has progressed from a partial tear to a full rupture.
"As all sports medics know, injuries to the plantar fascia are notoriously difficult to manage, but all concerned are confident that he will make a full recovery from this injury in good time.
"Patrick has been incredibly unlucky this year, his game time has been limited by different injuries including an ankle injury sustained at Newcastle and hamstring and quad injuries once back in training and matchday squads.
"What he needs is a period of rest and rehabilitation to allow his body to fully recover."
Leeds have, however, provided positive updates for six other first-team players, including club captain Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips (both hamstring) and Diego Llorente (back) who have all taken part in training after recovering from injury and are available for Saturday's home game against Southampton.
Goalkeeper Illan Meslier is suffering with severe bruising to his upper thigh and lower torso and has not trained this week; however, Leeds have revealed that he should be fit for this weekend's clash with the Saints.
Mateusz Klich suffered a concussion injury in the win at Wolves, but after completing the necessary concussion protocols in training, the midfielder will also be in contention to feature for Jesse Marsch's side on Saturday, as will star attacker Raphinha who has also returned to training after recovering from a bout of COVID-19.
Oliver Thomas
