Sheffield United keeping fingers crossed as key man undergoes scan on injury ahead of Southampton clash
Sheffield United keeping fingers crossed as key man undergoes scan on injury ahead of Southampton clash
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is keeping his fingers crossed for good news regarding Tahith Chong after the Blades new boy underwent a scan on the unfortunate injury that scuppered his full debut at Oxford United on Saturday. The former Luton Town man was named in the starting XI at the Kassam Stadium.
But he was replaced at the eleventh hour by Djibril Soumare after suffering a late fitness issue in the warm-up. He went down for some treatment from the Blades’ medical staff and initially tried to join his teammates in their preparations, before confirmation that Soumare would take his place in the starting line-up instead.
The Blades went on to win 1-0 thanks to Callum O’Hare’s winner, ending their winless start to the season and breathing a bit of belief back into a fanbase who had seen their side plunge to the bottom of the Championship table just months after losing in the play-off final.
United remain at the foot of the standings ahead of their midweek hosting of Southampton, with Chong anxiously awaiting the results of the scan as he hopes to have avoided any lasting damage. “We'll wait and see,” Wilder admitted in his pre-Saints press conference.
“That was disappointing for Chongy. He was set to start, and he’d trained really well. The position that we were playing him, he's played before in the Premier League with Luton Town. And his knee just locked up during the warm-up. So, that wasn't an ideal situation.
“It was definitely not an ideal situation for him, but for me and for Soumare as well. I thought he adapted well to the challenge, quickly getting on board with what he needed to do. It was important.
Sheffield United keeping fingers crossed as key man undergoes scan on injury ahead of Southampton clash
“I spoke to the players, the subs, that when we're working and we're picking the team and we're working with the team, they’ve got to always dial themselves in as well, because of how quickly things can change. Obviously, that was a situation that happened Saturday.”
United’s squad for the Saints clash could be boosted by the returns of Danny Ings and Tom Davies after their injury issues of late, with Chong the only concern from the Oxford win. “We’ve not got any more issues from the weekend,” Wilder confirmed.
“They're all putting their hands up to play, which I would fully expect them to do. There weren’t any knocks, just some bumps and bruises. I've got to get the team up to speed from a physical point of view.
“We talked about it from a competitive aspect and I’m delighted that they started putting the foot in and winning tackles. It’s not an attitude thing, because I believe they all want to run around. But we need to run around a little bit more, because I want my team to be athletic.
“I want them to be physical. I want them to compete. Those are the things that I've talked about and don't compromise on. But I want them to play as well, and they did that second half. It's no good doing all those basic attributes that you need to do to win a game of football, if you keep turning the ball over.
“I think that was one of the highlights of the second half really. We were a lot more composed. A lot more controlled in our approach. We were a lot more urgent in terms of how we played. We stepped on the gas second half so we need to step on the gas a little bit more on Tuesday night.”