Leeds United may have bolstered their squad over the January transfer window, but few could have accounted for the devastating news which came from their 3-1 FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley last week.

With Rodrigo having been substituted following an innocuous challenge, it was recently reported that the Spaniard would miss the next two months of action due to complications with his ankle. It leaves a gaping hole to be filled in attack, and then a vacancy as backup for the all-important run-in.

The Whites are still far from safe in the Premier League, and despite having played fewer games than the teams around them, they remain amongst that dreaded battle for top-flight safety, so to lose their top scorer for the season thus far is a hammer blow they did not need at this moment in time.

Whilst Georginio Rutter is expected to make the step up alongside the somewhat unreliable Patrick Bamford, Victor Orta surrendered their only real backup by allowing Joe Gelhardt to leave for Sunderland on loan during January.

Hindsight is obviously a wonderful thing, but even with the injury history of the aforementioned Bamford, it would have been a smart move to keep the 20-year-old, who has established himself as more than capable at senior level.

Gelhardt already boasts 41 first-team appearances for the Whites, and despite most of those being short substitute cameos, he already has nine goal contributions to his name.

The former Wigan Athletic marksman also played a subtly huge role in their narrow escape from the drop last year, as he bagged a late winner to earn three points against Norwich City and also produced a magical assist at the death for their equaliser against Brighton and Hove Albion in May.

In the Whites' moment of need, Gelhardt has stepped up, and he was rightly lauded for his contribution.

The “human wrecking ball” - as dubbed by Jamie Redknapp - could well thrive at Sunderland, and his progression will surely be fast-tracked at the Stadium of Light, but his absence will actually be felt heavily in Rodrigo's absence.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig was correct when he claimed that Gelhardt was "simply too good" for under-23s football, but perhaps he might soon show that he is even above Championship level.

Given that he is the same age as January arrival Rutter, but far more experienced in English football, it couldn't have hurt Leeds to keep their hugely precocious young striker at Elland Road. This could mark one of the few blunders made by Orta and co last month.