Sheffield United: Chris Wilder gives an injury update on key midfielder John Fleck

John Fleck, Sheffield United's influential midfielder, is likely to be fit for Saturday's clash with Preston North End if he misses Wednesday's game against Birmingham City, Blades boss Chris Wilder has revealed.
John Fleck of Sheffield UtdJohn Fleck of Sheffield Utd
John Fleck of Sheffield Utd

The Scot was a notable absentee from the Blades side that lost 1-0 at Bristol City on Saturday, after failing to shake off a groin injury that saw him taken off against Aston Villa before the international break.

And, ahead of the meeting with Garry Monk's Blues at Bramall Lane, Wilder said: 'Losing John was disappointing for us, because he's been in fine form and we had to disrupt the balance we had.

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'He was pretty close to travelling to Bristol with us, so we'll see how he is before the game. It's not a two or three week absence so if he doesn't play on Wednesday, he'll definitely be involved on Saturday.

'He's a very important player for us.'

Paul Coutts made the latest step in his comeback from a broken leg yesterday when he played 90 minutes for United's U23s against Nottingham Forest.

'We've got to get over the blow of losing the likes of John and others,' Wilder added.

'The general performance at Bristol was good, but we don't want to be going into the opposition manager's office and have them saying '˜it was a tight game and you're a decent side'.

'I respect the people at Bristol and they've come out on top, but from our point of view we shouldn't have got beat and it's disappointing.'