Sheffield United: Billy Sharp and Oli McBurnie must do this in order to face QPR
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The two centre-forwards are both fighting to overcome the injuries which ruled them out of last weekend’s defeat by Stoke City, which saw Paul Heckingbottom’s side slip to eighth in the Championship table with only seven games remaining.
With teenagers Daniel Jebbison and Will Osula the only recognised centre-forwards at the manager’s disposal unless either Sharp or McBurnie can recover in time for the meeting with Mark Warburton’s side, United’s know their hopes of qualifying for the play-offs could be decided by events inside the treatment room rather than on the pitch.
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Hide Ad“Oli has only been out a couple of days,” Heckingbottom told The Star, after revealing the Scotland international had strained a thigh muscle in training before the visit to Staffordshire. “It’s a case of him getting 100 percent confident that he’s over it. And us getting confident that he’s 100 percent over it as well.”
“Billy,” the United manager continued, “That situation was always a little bit more difficult because we want him to be as explosive as we know he is and also to be able to sprint.
“He did some work with us and, although he could still feel the injury a little bit, he thought he would be fit. The medical team were always a little bit more cautious though.”
The match at the bet365 Stadium appeared to be petering out into a draw until a stroke of misfortune on John Egan’s part saw him deflect a cross into his own bet during the closing stages. The result left United a point behind sixth-placed Blackburn Rovers, but only three ahead of Millwall in 10th.
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Hide AdAlready missing the likes of Rhian Brewster, Jayden Bogle and Chris Basham, Heckingbottom can ill-afford to be without more tried and tested performers at such a critical stage of the campaign.
“We can only focus on what we can control,” Heckingbottom said. “We will approach every game the same. But we didn’t do enough.”
“I’ve got no problem getting back on track. Especially at home."