Anxious wait for Sheffield United as striker injury is assessed

Burke was forced to withdraw from the forthcoming Nations League ties against Slovakia and the Czech Republic after suffering an unspecified fitness set back ahead of tonight’s European Championship play-off with Israel.

Steve Clarke, the Scotland manager, explained the decision had been taken to “protect” the individuals concerned despite the problems it caused ahead of the Israeli’s visit. Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Palmer and Scott McKenna of Nottingham Forest also returned to England late yesterday evening, while Ryan Christie, Kieran Tierney and Stuart Armstrong have been ordered to self-isolate after the Southampton player failed a UEFA Covid-19 test. Christie had earlier received the all-clear after reporting for duty at Scotland’s Oriam training centre, where United based themselves during pre-season.

Although Burke was not identified as one of Christie’s close contacts, unlike Armstrong, Tierney, a physiotherapist and masseur, he is likely to be vetted by United’s own screening programme before being granted permission to be examined by their conditioners and club physician.

After arriving at Bramall Lane from West Bromwich Albion last month, as part of the deal which took Callum Robinson to The Hawthorns, Burke has started three of United’s four matches since they returned to competitive action – emerging as Chris Wilder’s first-choice partner for Republic of Ireland international David McGoldrick.

An important message: Thank you for reading this article, one of dozens we publish every single day to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative coverage of YOUR club. This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to from the football team at The Star, please consider taking out a subscription to our new discounted sports-only package. You'll find all the details at https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions/sports.

Your support is much appreciated.

Chris Holt, Football Editor