Former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan fears for Ryan Edmondson's future at Elland Road.
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has a shortage of options up front with Jean-Kevin Augustin out injured and no other senior strikers apart from Patrick Bamford on the books.
Whelan has regularly champions Leeds giving young Edmondson an opportunity this season, but head coach Bielsa has continued to overlook the striker, who picked up a knee injury in February.
With more substitutes and substitutions allowed throughout the remainder of the Championship season, Edmondson could have hoped to be involved, but he was not amongst the substitutes at Cardiff City on Sunday.
Whelan thinks it is clear that Edmondson is not in Bielsa's plans, indicating that the writing is on the wall for the young striker.
"You've got an opportunity to put nine players on your bench and use five of them", he said on BBC Radio Leeds after the loss at Cardiff.
"If he's [Edmundson] not on there now then you're not going to see him. Simple as that.
"He is just not in Marcelo Bielsa's plans at all because if he was, and you're down to the bare bones in terms of strikers, he would be on that team-sheet on the bench."
Leeds look set to continue to bank on Bamford to lead the line, with loan star Augustin facing a race against time to get up to speed for the Whites' final eight games of the Championship season.
