Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has indicated the club are highly likely to be without an important squad member for their Premier League curtain-raiser against Nottingham Forest.
Forest will welcome Leeds to their home ground for the opening fixture of the campaign on August 22.
Farke has all but ruled out defender Gabriel Gudmundsson due to the injury problem.
The full-back sustained what appears to be a hamstring problem during a pre-season encounter with Liverpool in Chicago.
The 26-year-old was compelled to leave the pitch after 36 minutes having gone down clutching the rear of his thigh. He was able to depart the field on foot but appeared to be in pain.
Farke stated that initial checks suggest Gudmundsson will be unavailable for the beginning of the top-flight term. He reported the timeframe as approximately four weeks in total, with the first week now almost elapsed. However, Farke acknowledged Gudmundsson could sit out the inaugural match or possibly the first couple of fixtures. He admitted this was disappointing given the lack of depth in wing-back positions, meaning people could reasonably deduce which areas he would look to strengthen. He concluded by saying the situation was clearly unwelcome news.