Sheffield United boss identifies a big problem with his team's preparations for crucial Premier League clash

Nine players expected to feature against Fulham next Saturday - a match United must win to avoid a fifth straight defeat - are missing training this week after being selected by their respective countries, although Oliver Burke has returned to South Yorkshire after suffering an injury on Scotland duty.

Although Wilder apportioned some of the blame for United’s disappointing results to poor refereeing decisions, such as the one which saw Arsenal’s David Luiz escape an obvious red card during last Sunday’s meeting between the two sides, he also conceded his team must “up their game” in “all areas” following the match in London.

However, attempts to iron out those faults before Scott Parker’s side make the journey north have been affected by the fact the likes of John Egan, Enda Stevens, John Fleck and David McGoldrick are unlikely to report back to the Steelphalt Academy until Thursday - leaving coaching staff with only 48 hours to work on the adjustments they been planning.

“I’m not going to pretend, in this instance, it’s great to lose them,” Wilder said. “It does alter what we can do because, without stating the obvious, the lads who have gone away are clearly all important players for us. They wouldn’t be international otherwise, would they.”

“Listen, I’m glad to see them go away and I’m proud, for them and for us, that they’re representing their countries,” he continued. “I’d never stand in anyone’s way to do that, and nor should anyone else. But equally, it does change how we can work on things and the amount of time we’ve got to do it.

"We clearly can’t do everything we’d like to be doing. But we’ll get round it and face the challenge head on, the same as we always have done.”

United are combining their preparations for the clash with Fulham, who are also without a point this term, with discussions about how best to cope with defender Jack O’Connell, as the 26-year-old recovers from knee surgery. Although Wilder had initially planned to draft in a replacement - Huddersfield Town’s Terence Kongolo being his preferred option, sources confirm coaching staff are now working on a plan to proceed without re-entering the transfer market amid concerns about the former Monaco and Feyenoord centre-half’s fitness and the on-going financial chaos caused by government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Kongolo, who has been he can leave The John Smith’s Stadium, spent the second half of last season on loan at Craven Cottage but his time in the capital was cut short by a broken foot, which also forced him to go under the knife. Danny Cowley, who was sacked by Town over the summer, confirmed Kongolo’s rehabilitation programme had become more complex than initially thought before leaving West Yorkshire.

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