Chris Wilder relishing injury return of "absolutely huge" Sheffield United player after new look explained

Chris Wilder has described Tom Davies as an "absolutely huge" player in Sheffield United's survival bid after the new-look former Everton man made his long-awaited return at the weekend. Saturday's 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa didn't offer any positives but Davies' introduction as a 72nd-minute substitute saw his first minutes since last September.

A freak training-ground injury hampered his hopes of making a delayed impression on Blades fans, after signing as a free agent after the start of the current campaign and understandably taking time to get up to speed following a missed pre-season. But the 25-year-old was earmarked as a big player for the Blades by Wilder almost as soon as the manager walked back through the door at Bramall Lane and could be set for more minutes this weekend when United travel to Luton Town.

"Absolutely huge," said Wilder when asked to describe Davies' potential stature for the Blades this season. "With his influence on his teammates, on the younger players, and the calmness he can give us because he's been through this journey himself and has that experience. And it's been earned at a good club as well. He's one that we thought we'd really enjoy working with him because we know his personality and character. But most importantly, what a really good player we've been missing for quite a while."

Signed by Wilder's predecessor Paul Heckingbottom in mid-August, Davies' debut came exactly a month later away at Spurs before cameo substitute appearances in the 8-0 drubbing at home to Newcastle and the 2-0 defeat at West Ham a week later. After undergoing an operation to correct the freak thigh injury he sustained in training Davies also shaved off his trademark blonde hair, raising over £2,000 for a charity that supports suicidal men in Liverpool in London, before catching the eye with a mohican as he returned to United training.

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"I told him I was trying to work out how much he'd paid for that haircut," Wilder smiled, "because it looked like a £5 haircut and most probably he'd paid about £70 for it. Quite interestingly he said Oli McBurnie had done it for nothing. So there you go! He's coming nowhere near any of us with them clippers he's got.

"But Tom's got his own personality. He's a great kid that I've known for a bit and I'm getting to know even more. He's a good personality and a good player and I'll be delighted when we get him back fully."

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Davies' signing, on a three-year deal, was held up as an example of United's flawed recruitment but hindsight is always 20/20 and at the time, the Blades were short of Premier League experience and know-how. "No-one outside the group will have seen it but I will tell you about his impact in training," Wilder added. "You get this player from Everton, he's an established Premier League player, he knows his way around the Premier League, he's played for a big club, a demanding club, as a local boy as well, and all of a sudden he comes in to give you that Premier League experience.

"And no one's seen him because he's in the treatment room or down in London having a scan or an operation on his thigh or he's at home doing this or that. Ninety per cent of the football club, he's not seen. All of a sudden you see him doing a bit of running and integrating himself into training and bringing his experience. You just see it benefitting the group and certainly benefitting me because I can't wait to get him back fully.

"He's somebody that, if I was here at the start of the season, I would definitely have gone for as well. He's just had an unfortunate injury in a ridiculous situation. To get him back will be great with his Premier League experience, calmness, and most importantly, he's a really good player that wanted to come here and wants to do well here."