Key Sheffield United man's gruelling 20,000 mile, 47-hour international break trip ahead of Leeds United clash

Sheffield United fans and staff alike will be keeping their fingers crossed that Harry Souttar returns from his international break commitments with Australia unscathed, ahead of next Friday’s crunch Championship clash at local rivals Leeds United. The key Blades defender has been included in Tony Popovic’s squad for the Socceroos’ upcoming World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan.

The China game assumed extra significance after an unexpected haul of just one point from games against Bahrain and Indonesia over the last break, which led to the resignation of manager Graham Arnold - who previously turned down the chance to manage the Blades - and Popovic’s subsequent appointment. Australia host China in Adelaide on Thursday at 7.30pm local time, 10am in the UK, before facing Japan in Saitama next Tuesday evening, at 7.35pm Japanese time.

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That doesn’t leave much preparation time ahead of Friday night’s trip to Leeds, although the eight-hour time difference returning to the UK from Japan could worn in Souttar’s favour. In all the centre-half will travel almost 21,000 miles between the two games and back to England, with 47 hours - or almost two solid days - in the air.

Speaking before United signed off for the international break with a 2-0 win over Luton Town, which sent them joint-top of the Championship table, boss Chris Wilder did not seem overly concerned about Souttar - who had a similarly gruelling schedule over the last international break but shook it off to put in a commanding display in victory at Hull City, also on a Friday evening.

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“We talked about it with him,” Wilder said. “He's pretty cool and relaxed about it, he's got his process he goes through. I don't think he's in cattle class, or hopefully not anyway. It'd be a bit of a struggle for a 6ft 8in guy to squeeze in one of those seats on an 18 hour flight back! He's got a process but I've got to say his performance against Hull last time was outstanding. So we have to trust him and what he does. He wants to play for his country and he's a main actor for them, as much as he is a main actor for us.”

Despite being born in Scotland, Souttar is eligible to represent Australia because his mother, Heather, was born Down Under and has won more than 30 caps so far - including appearances at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw him come up against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi as Australia made it through to the round of 16, where they were beaten by the eventual champions Argentina.

“That was the World Cup that we saw him play, and I remember one incredible tackle he made when he came across to win the ball,” Wilder said. “They were incredibly competitive in that tournament, and he was part of that. He enjoys playing for his country and they all want to play at the highest level and go and test themselves at the highest level.”