Sheffield United boss's Ivo Grbic update as concussion sub puts Wes Foderingham on red alert for Aston Villa

Chris Wilder has insisted that Wes Foderingham is "professional enough" to re-take his place in Sheffield United's goal this weekend against Aston Villa if new signing Ivo Grbic is ruled out due to concussion protocols. The Croatian is being assessed by United's medical staff after being withdrawn at Crystal Palace last night, following a whack from Palace forward Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Grbic, who was making his Premier League debut following his move last week from Atletico Madrid, did not want to come off after lengthy treatment on the Selhurst Park pitch but was overruled by club doctor Subhashis Basu and United's medical staff amid fears of potential concussion. Depending on Grbic's symptoms after being examined he may have to now sit out a mandatory concussion period, threatening his availability for this weekend's clash with Aston Villa.

If that proves to be the case it would be an unexpected early reprieve for Foderingham, who was demoted to the bench immediately after Grbic's arrival last Friday. That led to a conversation with Wilder in which the former Rangers stopper asked about the possibility of leaving the Blades on loan ahead of tomorrow's transfer deadline, with Wilder unable to offer any guarantees that Foderingham would still be a Blades player after the window slams shut at 11pm.

But the development with Grbic could shift that situation, with Wilder unwilling to leave himself short for the second part of the season in such a key area. On Grbic's availability for the weekend visit of Unai Emery's Villa Wilder, who was unhappy at referee Tony Harrington's performance all evening, said: "Well, we have got to wait and see but he was obviously disappointed to come off.

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"He didn’t want to come off, but our doctor made that decision. So we’ll have to wait and see. But it’s a late challenge, regardless if it’s an accident or it’s not an accident. Whether it’s clumsy or not clumsy, and we lose our goalkeeper and have to make a substitution. I just think it’s poor play."

Foderingham replaced Grbic in the 52nd minute at Selhurst Park but was powerless to prevent what turned out to be Palace's winner as the imperious Michael Olise found space on the edge of the box and found the back of the Blades net via the inside of the post. Asked if Grbic's health may impact any potentual Foderingham departure before the transfer deadline, Wilder told SUTV: "Nothing's happened with Wes.

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"He’s a good professional and he’s been absolutely spot on over the last three or four days. We talked about it and I’ve talked about it openly, Ivo's come in and he's going to be No.1. The supporters again gave Wes [a good reception] and rightly so because he’s been a fabulous player for us.

"I’ve made that decision and we’ve made that decision as a club to offer Ivo a long-term contract. Wes at the moment is not playing, but he’ll be professional enough, if he has that opportunity of playing on Saturday, to go in and produce a good performance."