The 'important player' that Sheffield United are hoping to unleash soon after injury

The former Bournemouth man suffered what Wilder described as a "rare" toe injury in pre-season, and was forced to go under the knife to correct the issue.

Mousset's protective boot has now been removed, and the striker is back at Shirecliffe stepping up his rehabilitation.

"We're looking at him to progress in the next three to four weeks," Wilder said.

"For that type of injury it really isn't an exact science.

"He might be earlier than expected but we're possibly looking in and around the start of December for him to hopefully be available.

"These are the important times for Lys and the work we put into him. We'll be ramping that up because he has been an important player for us and will be going forward."

Mousset joins John Fleck and Jack O'Connell for the sidelines ahead of Saturday's clash with Manchester City, but the Blades could welcome back Max Lowe to the side.

The former Derby man was taken off with concussion early in his Premier League debut against Fulham, and narrowly missed out on featuring against Liverpool at Anfield last weekend because of the protocols that United had to follow due to the nature of his injury.

"He missed out [at Liverpool] by a day," Wilder said.

"He was training full-tilt at the back end of the week but because of the protocols, there were no chances taken. And rightly so."

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 Blades 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 HERE. Your support is much appreciated. Chris Holt, Football Editor