Sheffield United: Anxious wait ahead of Millwall as fitness checks underway
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With centre-half Chris Basham’s name being added to Bramall Lane’s casualty list before the meeting with Tony Mowbray’s team, Heckingbottom’s room for manoeuvre in terms of team selection is growing dangerously thin at a critical stage of the season.
The red card Charlie Goode received during the game against Rovers, which rules him out of clashes with fellow promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough as well as this weekend’s contest, places even further pressure on a defence already missing Enda Stevens, Jayden Bogle and Jack O’Connell.
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Hide AdLike Bogle, strikers Rhian Brewster and David McGoldrick have already been sidelined until the summer after undergoing surgery.
Asked if any of the players who faced Rovers had sustained knocks, Heckingbottom told The Star: “You never know straight away. It’s usually the next day, ot within 24 hours, that it becomes clear when they come back in. What I can say is that we weren’t counting them coming off like we were in our last one.”
McGoldrick was referring to events towards the end of United’s filleting of Swansea City six days ago, which ended with George Baldock, Rhys Norrington-Davies and Basham all being booked in for treatment.
Baldock and Norrington-Davies both recovered in time to face Rovers. But there are fears Basham could miss United’s push for top six qualification after being diagnosed with damage to a medial collateral ligament. The 33-year-old, whose contract expires shortly, recently indicated he expects to trigger a clause entitling him to a new deal upon making a predetermined number of starts.
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Hide AdHeckingbottom has admitted Basham faces “at least a couple of weeks out”, although MCL issues usually take around six to properly heal - providing there are no complications. A scan and further consulations with a specialist should reveal more over the coming days.
“It’s football,” Heckingbottom said, speaking in broad terms about the fitness issues he believes have been exacerbated by a fixture schedule which has already seen United contest six games this month. “Not so long ago, we were able to trim the squad, both in terms of numbers and budget which is important, but still leave ourselves in an arguably stronger position with two for every position right the way across the pitch. Now, suddenly, things have changed. We just need to get through as many games as possible. We will get through it.”
United climbed back to sixth in the table, leapfrogging Middlesbrough, when substitute Ben Davies swept home in the 92nd minute of an enthralling encounter with Rovers. Mowbray’s men had earlier seen a penalty kick, taken by Reda Khadra, saved; goalkeeper Wes Foderingham producing a superb block to deny the German.
“We’ll be taking a look at all of the lads,” Heckingbottom said. “We think we’ll be okay (after Rovers) and we don’t think there’s anything new there. But, like I made clear before, you can never really be sure until everything settles down a bit.”