Leeds United's centre-back crisis has got worse as the club do not have a recall clause in Giuseppe Bellusci's loan deal, according to reports.
The centre-half left on loan to Empoli earlier in the summer after a number of high-profile mistakes and incidents during his time at Elland Road.
But now the Yorkshire club has been left thin on the ground for central defenders due to club-captain Sol Bamba's departure for personal reasons on Thursday - and according to the Yorkshire Evening Post's Lee Sobot, Leeds cannot recall the Italian.
Bellusci was thought to be a disruptive figure in the dressing room, which may have been one of the reasons why manager Garry Monk shipped him on within a month of joining Leeds.
New signing Pontus Jansson, Swansea loanee Kyle Bartley and 23-year-old Liam Cooper are now the only three recognised central defenders on Leeds' books with a cup run and half a Championship season standing between them and the next transfer window.
Should one of the trio pick up an injury in the coming weeks, boss Monk will have a serious dilemma and any hope of a play-off berth could be gone by Christmas.
