Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has said he feels a bit sorry for Ben Osborn, who is working his back from injury.
Osborn hasn’t featured of late through injury and even popped up in the SUTV studio for the win over Coventry City.
Seen as one of United’s most versatile players, Osborn has been used a lot by Paul Heckingbottom ever since he took over as manager.
And speaking after last night’s win at Blackpool, Heckingbottom admitted he feels a bit sorry for Osborn, who now faces a big fight to get back into the starting XI.
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“Ozzie, maybe. He’s progressing well but we’re going to just make sure we get it right for him and for us. It’s no coincidence that when he jumped back into the team when we were short and went game, game, game and reached these big physical outputs, it was the following week,” Heckingbottom said.
“Listen, everyone’s done well we caught it at the right time. So just a case of getting the load and the workrate right for him. I feel for him because he’d just worked his way back into the team and now we’ve more players coming back so it’s going to be tough.”
The Blades take on QPR on Monday evening and depending on results, could move 14 points clear of third with a win.
Sheff U News View: Osborn will feature but others in front now
A good squad is all about having good players in the squad who compete with each other and that’s all that’s happened here.
James McAtee has seized his chance to come into the XI and now Osborn simply has to get back fit and be patient for the rest of the season. At the moment, there is just no way McAtee comes out of the team, with even Tommy Doyle struggling to get back into the XI.
However, Osborn will play his part. Given how this season has gone with injuries, there is bound to be someone else go down between now and May. Osborn’s ability to play different roles will see him get minutes, especially given he is a left footer as well.
The former Forest man is a top pro as well and will know what he needs to do.
