United made a late bid to recruit Brown before yesterday's emergency loan deadline having identified him as an option to strengthen their defence, but the club were unable to secure an agreement with the centre-back ahead of the Football League's 5pm cut-off point.

The failed approach followed confirmation that United's leading scorer, Jermaine Beckford, will be out of action for around a month with a torn hamstring suffered at Northampton Town on Tuesday night.

Brown is 18 months into the three-year deal he agreed when signing for Hull from Colchester United in 2007, but he has played virtually no part in City's Premier League campaign and recently concluded a short-term loan with Championship club Preston North End.

Hull boss Phil Brown granted United's request to speak with the centre-back but claimed that a deal would be highly unlikely unless Leeds were also prepared to commit themselves to a permanent transfer in January.

Phil Brown said: "Wayne has rightly said that he's 31 and he doesn't have to go on trial anywhere. If Leeds want him then a permanent move in January is something he'd consider along with a number of Championship clubs."

McAllister made his move for Wayne Brown after watching United's defence concede twice in a 2-1 defeat to Northampton in midweek, their sixth successive game without a clean sheet, but he will rely on the players in his squad to see the club through Sunday's FA Cup tie with Histon and five league matches next month.

Football League clubs are prevented from making any further signings until the transfer window opens on January 1.

United's boss has recently persisted with a central defensive partnership of Paul Telfer and Lubomir Michalik, but Wayne Brown's arrival would have given him a valuable alternative with Paul Huntington and Rui Marques yet to feature after recent injuries.

Leeds, meanwhile, have been hit by another blow with the news that Beckford could be unavailable for up to six weeks due to his hamstring injury.

Beckford will be sent for scans on the muscle next week once the swelling has subsided, but McAllister expects the striker to be missing for at least three weeks and possibly for as long as six.

The 24-year-old claimed his 19th goal of the season at Sixfields and had rediscovered a rich vein of goalscoring form after seven matches without finding the net, but he seems unlikely to play any part in the club's season before Christmas. McAllister said: "He's a big loss. His performance levels have moved up this season.


"He's got a slight tear in his hamstring. We're giving it a week to settle before he has any scans, but at the moment it's not looking good. They feel it might be a grade two which can be anything from two to six weeks. I would think a minimum of three or four weeks."

McAllister has Enoch Showunmi, Robert Snodgrass and Malcolm Christie in reserve, though Christie has a minor rib injury and is a doubt for Sunday's clash.