Sheffield United know they must beat Burnley on Monday evening if they are to stand any realistic chance of automatic promotion, with the Blades needing to close a five-point gap on their hosts and fellow top-two rivals Leeds United. Chris Wilder’s side arrested a dismal three-game losing streak by beating Cardiff City on Friday but need to produce one of their biggest performances to keep that momentum going.
United battled past Cardiff in the absence of Harry Clarke, who was surprisingly left out of the matchday squad having only just returned from injury, while opening goalscorer Gus Hamer hobbled off close to full-time. Easter Monday hosts Burnley haven’t lost a single game at home all season but Scott Parker also has fitness issues to manage.
Both sets of fans will have an eye on Leeds’ meeting with Stoke tomorrow before their teams go head-to-head in a massive clash. And ahead of all the drama, The Star has rounded up the latest injury news from both sides.
9. Oliver Arblaster - out
Will not feature in any of United's final three games, having been ruled out for the season after he suffered an ACL injury in November. Itching to get back but a long way to go just yet. | Sportimage
10. Oliver Arblaster - out (continued)
Wilder said of Arblaster last month: "It'll be next season, he's got some hurdles to get over, he's worked extremely hard and been diligent with his work. He's chomping at the bit as you can imagine, but he's still got a third of the work to go through. He's in a good place, and he's out on the grass and working but still that's a medium-to-long term injury. He'll be looking to come back into pre-season, whether it is the first day of pre-season he's back in with the first team, we'll work on that. He has a long summer ahead of him, a lot of work to put in to get himself right for the commencement of the new season." Photo: Mike Egerton
11. Rhys Norrington-Davies - out
Underwent surgery on a groin injury earlier this year, which subsequently ended his season early. It's been a difficult campaign for the Welshman, who has endured a number of fitness issues. Photo: Catherine Ivill
12. Rhys Norrington-Davies - out (continued)
Wilder said of the defender last month: "He's had an operation on his groin area, a really unfortunate injury - a block tackle and the force of the challenge and the force of the injury sees him out for the rest of the season. It's disappointing for him. It's not going to be affecting his next season but he'll just miss out the end of this season. It's disappointing for him because he's due a bit of luck and hopefully he'll get himself right and get that bit of luck he deserves." Photo: Naomi Baker