“Not looking good...” - Latest Sheffield United injury blow severity as trio ruled out of Sheffield Wednesday game
“Not looking good...” - Chris Wilder reveals severity of latest Sheffield United injury blow as trio ruled out of Sheffield Wednesday game
Rhys Norrington-Davies’ recent injury struggles have continued after the Sheffield United man went for a scan on the groin injury he picked up for the U21s in midweek. The Welsh international missed the chance to represent his country at the World Cup in 2022 after a serious hamstring issue.
After he made his comeback the defender then suffered another similar issue in the other leg, forcing him down the pecking order at left-back behind Harrison Burrows and Sam McCallum. He was included in the Blades’ U21 side against Birmingham City in midweek to get some minutes under his belt but made way before the break as United ran out 5-2 winners.
Norrington-Davies was subsequently sent for a scan and visited a specialist, with Chris Wilder “definitely” ruling him out of United’s next three games against Preston North End, Bristol City and city rivals Wednesday just before the international break.
“It isn’t looking too good, from his reaction as well,” Wilder said this morning ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston. “He's had a scan, we've taken him to a specialist so he won't be available definitely for the next three games.
“We've talked about it before, sometimes you just need a bit of luck. We've had it with other players and Rhys is one of those. It was a block tackle, he's planted his right foot and it's just an innocuous tackle that's tweaked something in the groin area. It's not been a great period for him personally.
“It's just unfortunate. When you look into injuries you look into repeat injuries, soft tissue injuries are on the menu for not just us but a lot of clubs, especially at the highest level. We're trying to keep that to a minimum but some you can't do anything about.
“Tom Cannon rolling his ankle, we couldn’t do anything about and Rhys is in the same boat. He had to go for the tackle, it was nothing to do with his previous injuries or him being underprepared. He's a top pro and he's been really unfortunate.”
Ipswich loanee Harry Clarke will also miss the trip to Hillsborough next weekend along with Tom Davies, the former Everton man suffering a tight calf recently. “Harry won’t be available for the next two or three weeks,” Wilder added. “He’ll be back for the Coventry game and Tom will too.
“Harry had a whack underneath his foot that needs to settle down and Tom had a tight calf. So he’s missed the last couple of games and the next couple too, so he’ll be back for the last eight games of the season.”
That leaves United light at right-back, with Femi Seriki not yet in a position to start games after his own injury absence and Alfie Gilchrist’s own fitness struggle. “Femi’s playing catch-up and there’s a couple of others we have to be careful with,” Wilder said. “Tom Cannon, Gus [Hamer] and Femi. We can’t overload them and we have to make sensible decisions.”
On Gilchrist, who recently returned to Chelsea for treatment after damaging his ankle in training, Wilder added: “He’s progressing nicely. I believe Alfie's coming back up the road over the weekend and will be back Monday with us. That’s good news and we'll get him right. Whether he's right for the last game before the break, I'm not sure but potentially he'll be ready for the Coventry game, which is good news.”