Fears over Sheffield United fan favourite allayed ahead of Sheffield Wednesday clash amid Rhian Brewster injury update
Sheffield United injury update after concerns for two key men ahead of next weekend’s Steel City derby v Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United have no concerns over Vini Souza’s availability for next weekend’s Steel City derby against Sheffield Wednesday, after the Blades fan favourite took a nasty whack to the head during today’s clash with Blackburn Rovers. The United star, in dominant form once again at Ewood Park as his remarkable United turnaround continues, was poleaxed by Rovers sub Makhtar Gueye in the second half, sparking anger and concern in equal measure.
Gueye was perhaps fortunate to only get away with a yellow card for an incident that would have been closely analysed had it happened in the Premier League, and Souza recovered to finish the game. Any sign of concussion would have placed the Brazilian’s involvement against Wednesday in serious doubt, with just eight days until the hotly-awaited fixture, but Souza was deemed fine to play on after examination from United’s experienced medical team on the field.
“I've got to say, I thought it was pretty aggressive, the challenge on him,” Wilder said. “You look at the difference between Championship and Premier League, and I think that could potentially have been more than a booking because it was a very dangerous challenge. Gus got tackled by the referee, too. I like the referee but there's no need to try and tighten the game up a little bit by tackling our No.8. If we were right today and on it, we'd be a difficult opponent to beat, and we were.”
United ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals in either half from Harrison Burrows and Tyrese Campbell while there was also concern for Rhian Brewster after the forward limped off in the second half, after twice going down with an injury issue. But Wilder allayed any fears of a recurrance of the hamstring issues that have plagued the former Liverpool man in recent seasons, ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to Bristol City.
“He just got a bang on his thigh so it was a little bit tight,” the Blades boss added. “So it wasn't anything to do with hamstring or anything major and we're expecting him to be in tomorrow, to do our recovery and prepare for another difficult game on Tuesday night.”