Ex-Leeds United forward Robbie Fowler has insisted his former club are 'gambling on fitness' after not making a single senior signing in the January transfer window.
The Whites have been ravaged by injuries this season and head coach Marcelo Bielsa has been forced to cope without key figures such as Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford.
Stretching of the squad has been so severe that several prospects from the club's under-23 side have been called upon to fill squads but Leeds did not add to their first-team squad at all in January.
In his column on the Mirror website, Fowler has selected his 'winners' and 'losers' of the January window and he has placed Leeds in the latter category.
He wrote: "No signings when you have key players injured? You’re gambling on fitness, which is never wise. That could backfire."
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An upside to the injury crisis has been the emergence of some exciting prodigies at Elland Road, such as Norway under-21 international Leo Hjelde and dangerous forward Joe Gelhardt.
However, the pile-up of absences has at times left Leeds looking like a shell of the side that surged into the top half of the Premier League last season.
The Whites were heavily linked with Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson throughout January but a moved never materialised.
There was even late speculation regarding a swoop for Liverpool winger Takumi Minamino but Leeds did not make a foray into the market before the window slammed shut on 31 January.
Bielsa's squad was in fact made smaller, as defender Cody Drameh made a temporary switch to Championship side Cardiff City just days after appearing for Leeds in the Emirates FA Cup defeat to West Ham United.
Loan exits for young trio Ryan Edmondson, Josh Galloway and Bobby Kamwa were also sanctioned but none had featured under Bielsa and Edmondson had spent the first half of the campaign away from the club anyway.
Despite the absences that have plagued the Whites, they are still above the relegation zone and there is a seven-point gap between Leeds and 18th-placed Watford.
The Elland Road faithful will now be hoping the injury crisis begins to ease and that Bielsa is once again able to work with a squad that at least comes close to being full strength.
