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Lees was left temporarily blinded in one eve after being accidentally poked in the eye. Manager Neil Warnock described the injury – caused by an innocuous blow to the defender’s face – as “a worry”, and Lees is a doubt for United’s trip to Burnley having left the field after 40 minutes of their draw at Brighton.

His premature exit from a lively Championship game ended a difficult week for Lees, who learned on Wednesday that he was to be charged by Serbian Police over his involvement in the brawl which marred an under-21 fixture between England and Serbia last month.

Warnock selected him as planned at Brighton having given Lees his backing beforehand, but the injury sustained by the 21-year-old has put further strain on an already stretched defence.

Warnock said: “Tom got a nasty finger in his face. He couldn’t see out of one eye and it blinded him for a bit.

“He went to hospital and it’s a worry for us. We’ll have to cross our fingers on that.”

Huddersfield manager Simon Grayson believes there is more to come from exciting winger Sean Scannell after he netted the only goal of the game against Bristol City.

The 22-year-old scored his first Town goal since his £400,000 move from Crystal Palace in June.

Grayson said: “He can be what he wants to be. We haven’t seen the best of him yet but he has shown glimpses of what he is capable of.”

Scannell, given the chance of a more attacking role because of injuries to strike duo Jermaine Beckford and James Vaughan, responded to Grayson’s faith with the only goal just before half-time.

Scannell missed a late chance to underline the victory but Grayson said: “He was a constant threat with his power and pace.

“He started the season but then got a hamstring injury and when he came back he wasn’t able to get back in the side.

“We have worked hard with him on his fitness, which was lacking, and we’re also working on his positional play.”

John Egan has become Bradford City’s first loan signing of the season, as Phil Parkinson looks to swell the ranks at Valley Parade.

An injury crisis, coupled with an enormous fixture schedule means that the 20-year-old Irishman needed to be recruited to bolster the Bantams’ backline, and is likely to go straight into tomorrow’s squad for the match against Chesterfield.

Parkinson said: “John’s decent in the air and competitive. He’s a good defender, is comfortable on the ball and I like the look of him.

“I’ve done my homework on him and heard that his commitment is first class. That’s what our supporters want to see.”

17-year-old Scott Brown made his starting debut against Northampton on Saturday. The highly-rated Scottish midfielder is also expected to feature somewhere in tomorrow’s squad after impressing in a deep-lying midfield role in City’s 1-1 draw with the Cobblers.