Kilkenny is on the verge of a comeback after missing United's last three matches with a leg problem, and Gary McAllister is poised to call on the midfielder at the Keepmoat Stadium following the revelation that Hughes will be absent for a minimum of three weeks.

Striker poser for Leeds United boss: Click here for full story.

Hughes injured his knee in the final minutes of Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Elland Road, and Leeds are fearful that the 30-year-old may require an operation to repair the damage.

Leeds have sent Hughes for an examination by a specialist surgeon and McAllister is resigned to losing his captain until the start of next month, but the impact of his absence will be lessened this weekend by Kilkenny's availability.

The Australian international trained with McAllister's squad at Thorp Arch yesterday, and despite finishing the session in a small amount of discomfort, he has been included in United's squad for tomorrow's
crucial clash with Doncaster.

McAllister said: "We've got the boost of Neil Kilkenny coming back.
"He trained (yesterday) and he felt it a little bit, but he's going to feel a little bit of discomfort in the immediate future. He's back in the squad.

"Andrew's got a problem with his knee which happened in the last minute of the game (on Tuesday) and he's going to be missing.

"He's been to see a surgeon and they're going to decide which way to go about this. It might need a little bit of a scrape or a clean, but that will be left to the surgeon and the medical people here.

"But Andrew's a fit guy and we're looking more in the region of two to three weeks, even if the worst comes to the worst.

"It's a big blow because he's a guy who gives us momentum and driving force from the middle of the park, but it's up to others now. They've got to take up that mantle. We're well covered across the middle of the park."

McAllister was in the process of selecting a new captain today after taking last night to weigh up his decision, and Hughes is the third player who has been forced to give up the armband at Elland Road by injury this season.

Alan Thompson, who will return to Leeds from his loan at Hartlepool United next week, began the term as captain before hamstring and calf strains saw the armband pass to Jonathan Douglas.

But Douglas' season was disrupted by a serious knee injury sustained at Walsall before Christmas, and the Republic of Ireland international is not certain of playing again before the end of the League One campaign.
Hughes was at the centre of an improved display from Leeds against
Forest, and his sudden absence has come with McAllister already working to cover for leading scorer Jermaine Beckford who is serving a one-match suspension this weekend.

The selection problems will require McAllister to reorganise both his midfield and his strikeforce for tomorrow's noon kick-off, which could represent United's final chance to make a serious bid for automatic promotion.

But McAllister refused to reveal whether he still saw a top-two finish as a realistic ambition for Leeds, saying: "I'm treating this as a new season. I want to tick off each game as we move up the league and we'll set ourselves little targets as we go along.

"But it's a derby with the local thing about it, and it's a chance to get back the three points that Doncaster took away from us at Elland Road."