Leeds United boss Sam Allardyce reveals serious injury concerns and duel failure in West Ham loss

Leeds went ahead in the 17th minute when Rodrigo swept home from Weston McKennie’s long throw but as they have done all season, they blew the lead. Declan Rice, playing in what is expected to be his final home game as a Hammer, levelled matters on 31 minutes after a spell of West Ham pressure. By that stage Bamford had limped off to be replaced by Willy Gnonto.

The Whites could have hit the front again before half-time but both Gnonto and Jack Harrison fluffed their lines after Rodrigo won possession and teed them up.

What followed the interval, however, was desperate stuff. West Ham strolled to a second goal, Jarrod Bowen getting on the end of a slick move, and Manuel Lanzini added a third deep in stoppage time after the hosts squandered a number of chances to kill the contest. Rodrigo spent a large part of the second half visibly wincing in pain as he ran. Allardyce revealed after the game that the Spaniard and Bamford have problems that could be huge concerns ahead of the final game of the season, when Leeds will need to beat Spurs at Elland Road next weekend and pray that Everton don’t beat Bournemouth.

"Both of them are struggling,” he said.

"Rodrigo with plantar fasciitis and Bamford with a hamstring. It depends on the injuries that we have to Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford. If both miss, based on what we do up front after that, it's a big ask. That is fact. I can't hide the fact, who am I going to play up front with those two missing? We might have to change the system."

Allardyce felt compelled to keep Rodrigo in the pitch because Leeds were still in the game, at least in terms of the scoreline, until stoppage time and he had no suitable replacements on the bench.

"We had to [keep him on],” said the boss.

"We're always in the game, we were winning the game, half-time it was 1-1, second half we were in the game, at 2-1 we were still in it. We couldn't take him off. Who could replace him? We didn't have a centre-forward to replace him.”

The squad’s lack of strength in depth is not just a problem up top in Allardyce’s eyes, it’s an issue at the back. And failing to take chances at one end, along with an inability to keep clean sheets at the other, is what cost them in London.

"We didn't show enough quality,” he said.

"Second half it was about hanging in there as a team and making your way forward when you can, maybe a counter attack or set-piece and score a goal you maybe don't deserve. We didn't do that.

“Lack of composure to pick the final pass out. Plenty of players arriving, plenty of opportunities in those areas. And we've struggled to keep a clean sheet, it was going to be hard pushed the way our record is. That's why I wanted more than one goal. We didn't get that. We stayed in the game for a period of time. The third goal was just us going hell for leather to get back into it.”

Allardyce, who was also critical of the lack of impact his substitutes brought to the game, says Leeds can now only go out and do their bit at Elland Road next Sunday and hope results elsewhere go their way.

"The only challenge is to try and beat Tottenham and deliver a performance, without the mistakes we made against Newcastle,” he added.