The injury crisis at Sheffield United is getting ridiculous now and seriously threatening to derail any hopes of promotion the Blades might have.
United’s hammering at the hands of Coventry City was an eye-opener for all and in a way, highlighted just how stretched this current squad is. Kyron Gordon was forced to start in defence, while the bench consisted of five academy graduates alongside Oli McBurnie and Adam Davies.
Paul Heckingbottom has complained that the training pitch is causing issues in terms of soft tissue injuries. But there are also some knocks which are just down to bad luck, with Oli McBurnie the latest to go down yesterday.
With so many players out injured, it’s a surprise that United are still in the top six. If they do make the playoffs, then Heckingbottom and co can be absolutely proud of their work since taking over from Slavisa Jokanovic.
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Sheffield United’s Injured XI
Throughout the squad, both long and short-term, Sheffield United are absolutely ravaged with injury problems.
At the back, Jack O’Connell is the longest of long-term problems. But Chris Basham is also out, while George Baldock hasn’t returned and Enda Stevens is still not training properly. Even new signing Charlie Goode has a knock, while Liverpool loanee Ben Davies missed yesterday with a calf injury.
In midfield, John Fleck went down against Middlesbrough. Jayden Bogle, who was flying at right wing-back, is also out for the season, as are both David McGoldrick and Rhian Brewster in front of him. Add to that the injury to McBurnie yesterday, and you can make a pretty good XI – goalkeeper aside – which would probably do well in the Championship.
In fact, we’ve done just that here. Below is an injured Sheffield United XI – not including Jack O’Connell – and it’s quite the team.
