FIT-AGAIN Keith Gillespie, who hasn't turned out for Sheffield United this season, is set to kick-start his campaign by playing for Northern Ireland tomorrow.
The winger is set to win his 82nd cap as he starts his 15th campaign for his country when they face Slovakia in Bratislava in their opening World Cup qualifier.
Gillespie has been out with an ankle injury and hasn't figured for the Blades but has completed a full week's training and has declared himself fit.
"It's been frustrating having an injury at the start of a season but I am over it now," said the 33-year-old right winger who made his international debut 14 years ago.
"I have had five or six days training and the ankle feels fine. There are no problems and I'm ready and feel I can do a full game if required."
What do you think? Post your comments below.Gillespie finished last season with United as a regular substitute. Apart from the FA Cup tie against Manchester city, his last start in the league was against Crystal Palace at the end of December.
The signing of David Cotterill means that Gillespie has been pushed down the pecking order and out of the first team reckoning at the moment and not having started for half-a-season anyway, that first team future looks bleak.
Meanwhile, former Blades defender David Sommeil has come out of a coma two weeks after collapsing having suffered a heart attack at his club's training ground.
Sommeil, 34 and now with Valenciennes, has undergone tests after regaining consciousness and the doctor says there are no signs of brain damage although he cannot yet talk.
"He's woken up in the medical sense but is not yet communicating," said Dr Marc Chasselat.
He was one of Neil Warnock's first signings after the club reached the Premiership in 2006 but he failed to make an impact and made only seven appearances for the Blades before moving on after just a year.
*The Daily Mail today predicted that Michael Brown is "heading back to Sheffield United on a three-month loan from Wigan."
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