"Beast" Ivan Toney injury situation clarified ahead of Sheffield United's trip to Brentford

Sheffield United are expected to face England international Ivan Toney this weekend after Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager, insisted that his star man “will be ready” to face the Blades. Toney, who recently returned from a lengthy ban, was only fit enough to make the Bees’ bench for their 3-3 draw at Aston Villa at the weekend.

A hip injury restricted him to a 10-minute cameo appearance in the stalemate, which left Brentford four points above the relegation zone and, without a win in nine league games, nervously looking over their shoulder. They will hope to give themselves some breathing room by beating United on home soil this weekend but the Blades travel south with renewed confidence after much-improved performances of late, including a creditable 2-2 draw at home to Chelsea on Sunday evening.

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“If we would have been 2-0 up or 2-0 down I probably wouldn’t have put him on the pitch,” Frank said of Toney. “He is fine and will be ready for Sheffield United. He could have played today but that would have been pushing it. He is a beast. He can play through everything but sometimes I need to be the sensible guy that can take a decision for him to make sure he performs at the top level.”

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Toney, who will be keen to put his absence behind him and score the goals which could book him a place in the England squad for this summer’s European Championships, had a heated on-pitch argument with teammate Nathan Collins after the Villa draw, which saw Brentford come back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 before Ollie Watkins’ equaliser.

Toney was seemingly unhappy about Collins not passing to him late on and when asked what the incident was about, Frank admitted: "I don't know. I was over there speaking to them but I don't know exactly what it was and I don't really care. I know it is two very competitive people that want to win a match.

“I don't know exactly what the situation was, but we have a very good culture and a united team and it is okay to have a little bit of friction. They will sort it out no problem."