What now as Leeds United injury contingencies are revealed and transfer window grade is remarked

No one clamouring to see Ao Tanaka in the starting line-up wanted it to happen like this. The challenge Ethan Ampadu flew into on Saturday might have won Leeds the ball but they have now lost their captain until January - if conservative treatment works of course. Doctors have suggested that Leeds' captain and central midfielder does not require surgery and Farke hopes that Ampadu will therefore be back in team training by December.

A three to four-month absence for a player of Ampadu's ability and leadership skills would hurt any team in the Championship and Leeds will miss him regardless of who stays fit between now and 2025. But, at the very least, the step taken in the summer transfer window to add Joe Rothwell and Tanaka to the ranks means that Farke can put the latter straight in to partner Ilia Gruev in the midfield and retain a formidable, international pairing in the centre of the pitch. The Rothwell signing always had the look of a squad depth move, though there is always the possibility that circumstance may thrust him into the spotlight before his season-long loan is up. Tanaka, though, was signed to play, eventually, and now - in less than fortuitous circumstances - play he shall.

And as long as both Gruev and Tanaka stay fit, Leeds should get what they need from central midfield. Gruev is mobile, combative enough to regain possession and tidy enough to retain it. Tanaka is forward-thinking and though he did the grunt work, added physicality and stayed disciplined in his first proper outing against Coventry, the attacker in him spotted the run of Willy Gnonto to play a key pass in the build-up to Joel Piroe's goal. If a chance presents itself, the Japan international will try to split a defence or score a goal.

It's possible, if not likely, that the replacement of a defensive-minded player with a more attacking one will alter the way Leeds have been operating as a team. But though Farke did admit on Monday, as he previewed the Tuesday trip to Norwich City, that at least one of Ampadu's strengths will be difficult to replicate in his absence - the raking long ball that last season proved so adept at putting forwards in behind the back line - he's confident he has the players to keep threatening from deep.

"It's almost a bit difficult once you have a player with a special skill, to replace it," said the German. "I totally agree, Ethan has a good feeling to sometimes mix it up with a chipped ball either to create an easy chance or just to stretch your opponent. He has a good eye and the good feeling for the moment. I have to say, especially in the last games, Ilia has played some really good balls, I think about the scene with Jayden Bogle in the first half [against Coventry] for example. It's important we still also show this tool and this skill in order to be less predictable. If Ethan is not on the pitch one or two players have to step up who don't show the skill that often. Ao is a player who can do this, Joe Rothwell can do this, so we have players there."

Beyond the experienced pairing of Tanaka and Rothwell lies Charlie Crew - capped once at senior level for Wales but still so green and raw in terms of club football. A place on the bench is the best the 18-year-old can hope for, unless injuries should continue to ravage an already-small Leeds squad.

Whether or not Farke would have chosen to bring Tanaka in to start at this stage of the season is largely irrelevant because needs must and this is where the contingency kicks in. But Ampadu's knee ligament injury does not simply impact the middle of the park. The 24-year-old would have been first-choice deputy for Pascal Struijk at left-sided centre-back, should the Dutchman have struggled to shake off his recent groin complaint. With that contingency gone, Farke could have introduced Max Wober to the Championship. But Plan C, for the next six weeks at least, will join Ampadu in the treatment room as he rehabs from a serious knee problem of his own. And all of a sudden, Leeds' pair of senior centre-back contingencies have vanished, leaving Farke with entirely untried and untested 19-year-old James Debayo in reserve as the only natural centre-back in the first-team picture.

Debayo describes himself as a defender who is comfortable on the ball. Farke rates the teen and has consistenly praised his development ever since Debayo joined the seniors for their summer trip to Germany, but throwing him in at Norwich, Sunderland or against Sheffield United would be asking a lot of even the most unflappable of youngsters.

There are other options open to Farke but neither are they without risk or drawback. Gruev has played centre-back for Bulgaria, but he is needed now more than ever as the defensive midfielder. Junior Firpo's aerial prowess and his ability on the ball would make him an emergency candidate to move inside and partner Joe Rodon, but what Leeds would lose at left-back would be considerable and his understudy Isaac Schmidt is now injured too, albeit with what sounds like a minor issue. Sam Byram could step in to play in the centre of the defence, but for a week like this his injury record and ability to play two or three games with a quick turnaround would come sharply into view.

Both Struijk and Rodon have had their own respective niggles in the last week or two and though both came through Saturday's game without any concern, this will be a testing week and the robust nature of Championship football will once again test their physical capabilities and maybe even Leeds' squad depth to the limit. There was talk of potential further strengthening at centre-back early on in the summer window but Rodon was the only right-sided central defensive arrival.

Farke, for now, has contingencies and back up plans that should keep his football ticking over, but they are now few and far between. Wingers Daniel James and Manor Solomon are out. Midfielder Ampadu is out. Defenders Wober and Schmidt are out. Getting to the international break without further fresh issues will be absolutely vital for Leeds, who must wrap the available wide players, central midfielders and centre-backs in cotton wool.

CEO Angus Kinnear recently gave the club's transfer window a B+ and insisted that the capture of a number 10 would have given Leeds and their recruitment work an A grade. But in football, especially the English second tier, your work is constantly being marked and remarked and the marking scheme itself is ever-shifting. Should the Whites emerge from this week with four points or more, this new-look squad of Farke's will have passed their sternest test yet with flying colours.