Sheffield United have a new injury concern with Oli McBurnie having withdrawn from the Scotland squad.
The Daily Record reports McBurnie left the international camp on Monday and will miss upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers with Russia and San Marino.
Exactly what the forward has done – or how long he could be absent for – has not yet been confirmed.
At least from the Blades’ point-of-view they know McBurnie has plenty of time to recover. Their next match is the Premier League encounter with Arsenal on October 21.
Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong has replaced the 23-year-old in Steve Clarke’s squad. It means Clarke only has three strikers to choose from for the two fixtures.
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What Oli McBurnie injury means for the Blades
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Manager Chris Wilder eased McBurnie into life at Bramall Lane after making him the club’s record signing over the summer.
That said, the Scot has played a part in all ten of their fixtures so far this season. However, the first three Premier League appearances were from the bench – although he did score his first goal in the 2-1 defeat to Leicester City.
Since then McBurnie has started every league game, but has failed to find the back of the net again. In fairness, he did have one ruled out by VAR during the loss to Southampton. In the next match, Yerry Mina scored an own goal for Everton but if the defender hadn’t headed it into his own net McBurnie would have scored.
Wilder does have other options upfront if he can’t play against the Gunners. Callum Robinson has been his partner in recent times, while Lys Mousset looks match fit following a bedding in period himself.
Billy Sharp is now back from suspension and came off the bench in the 0-0 draw at Watford at the weekend. Leon Clarke has even been brought back in from the cold after being transfer-listed in the summer.
David McGoldrick has also been absent recently with injury, but is in contention to play for the Republic of Ireland during this international break.
