Sheffield United manager Slavisa Jokanovic has confirmed that Irish left-back, Enda Stevens, will be missing for the foreseeable future through injury.
Stevens has struggled to shake off a knee problem and missed out in United’s Championship opener against Birmingham City, as well as the League Cup tie with Carlisle United.
Ben Osborn started against the Blues, while Rhys Norrington-Davies was given the nod for the Carlisle fixture. And the pair could well get more chances in the coming weeks, with Jokanovic suggesting Stevens could miss as much as six weeks.
“Enda will be still a few weeks out. We are thinking too about some surgery at the moment we’re still waiting for his scan to come back.
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“But yes, we are thinking about the international break or after the international break,” Jokanovic said in his pre-match presser today.
Stevens’ injury is another bitter blow for the new Blades boss. He is already low on numbers in terms of left centre-backs. Stevens has played there before, and could well have been an option.
Enda Stevens injury opens door
The shining light when it comes specifically to the left-back slot, is that we do have options. Ben Osborn is the obvious choice, but Norrington-Davies could be given the chance given Osborn’s preference for midfield.
Beyond that, Max Lowe is also an option. We’ve already written about Lowe and how he could seek a loan move. But with Stevens now out, the ex-Derby man surely has to fancy his chances of pushing on.
The worrying thing against Birmingham with Osborn was his lack of height and how they exposed it. The goal came from there, and the Blues tried time and again to exploit it.
It would be no surprise, then, to see Norrington-Davies this weekend. He did well in midweek, and is a more natural option.
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