'I might give Tony Currie a call' - Chris Wilder frustrated by Sheffield United's midfield misery

Chris Wilder discovered the Norwegian will require surgery to repair the damage he suffered during last week’s game against Manchester United before United’s draw with Brighton - a match which saw the visitors come within four minutes of recording their first win of the Premier League season.

John Lundstram, Berge’s replacement at the AMEX Stadium, is set to miss the next three matches after being sent-off during the first-half of a contest which United led until Danny Welbeck’s late equaliser cancelled out Jayden Bogle’s opener.

Confirming it would be “futile” trying to appeal the Lundstram’s red card, which was awarded following a challenge on Joel Veltman, Wilder said: “I’m thinking of giving John Gannon and Bob Booker a call, maybe TC (Tony Currie) too, because if they’ve still got some boots they might have to be involved in training. Seriously, that does leave us really stretched in that area of the pitch but we’ll just have to mix things around and try to get through.”

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“Sander is going to need surgery, which is a real shame because it was a bit of a freak injury according to the medical staff,” Wilder continued. “The tendon has come away from the bone and he’s going to have to go under the knife to reattach it.”

Referee Peter Bankes initially cautioned Lundstram for his tackle on Veltman, before upgrading the punishment to a red after VAR official Michael Oliver encouraged him to review the incident on a pitchside monitor.

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“It must have been borderline, because did VAR say red card straight away? No, he went to the monitor,” Wilder said. “I have to be careful (what I say) because I want it to be a contact sport. People talk about excessive force? I don't know how you determine that. Do you slow down when you are trying to tackle someone in a full tilt match?

“We have to be careful, because I still think supporters want it to be a contact sport. I have to admit, I’ve not seen it. But I thought he might go when it all went on. It’s difficult for me, as a football dinosaur clearly, to accept.”