Marcelo Bielsa has said he expects to be without Pablo Hernandez for Leeds United's Boxing Day clash against Preston North End after the Spaniard limped off during the 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
Hernandez grabbed his hamstring as he looked to launch a Leeds counter with just 30 seconds on the clock and was was replaced by Gjanni Alioski in the third minute.
Leeds fell behind four minutes later when Aleksandar Mitrovic converted a contentious penalty before Patrick Bamford leveled after the break. A Josh Onomah winner saw the Cottagers end Leeds' 12-match unbeaten streak, with the hosts moving up to third in the table and cutting the gap to second-placed Leeds to nine points.
Following the defeat, Bielsa confirmed that Hernandez was suffering from a 'muscular problem'. Asked if he would now be a doubt for the clash against the Lilywhites, the Whites boss conceded that "I think so, it will be a problem."
Bielsa insisted that neither bad luck or preparation were to blame for Hernandez's injury.
"It’s never bad luck when injured," he said. "Muscular injuries are not bad luck, but if for a problem of co-ordination, maybe a weird movement or movement not natural, can create one injury. Wasn’t the case.
"Warming up is something we control very well. We take care a lot about this. So I don’t think it’s linked to that."
Saturday's defeat was the first of four Championship games in a 12-day period for the Whites.
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