Sheffield United go "old school" with Scotland centre-forward Oli McBurnie

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has admitted to adopting an “old school” approach towards Oli McBurnie’s rehabilitation from injury, acknowledging he ignored advice from his physios that the centre-forward should have played no more than half-and-hour of Tuesday’s friendly at Derby County.

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Instead, after a lacerated foot forced him to withdraw from the Scotland squad which faces Israel later this week, McBurnie completed 45 minutes of the 2-0 win - replacing Lys Mousset for the start of the second period.

“I went b***s to it,” Wilder told The Star. “It won’t have done Oli any harm. I just went a little bit old school.

“The physios didn’t think he should be out there for more than 30 (minutes) but he did a little bit longer. I’m sure Oli will be feeling it a bit right now but he knows the game and what to do.”

McBurnie became the focus of a social media storm north of the border following his appearance in the east Midlands, before Wilder and Steve Clarke, his international counterpart, explained the 24-year-old’s interests were best served by remaining in South Yorkshire to continue his recovery.

With Mousset still short of fitness after returning from a break in France, McBurnie is set to become an even more important figure in United’s plans for the new campaign, which begins with a home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 14.

“Oli will benefit from it, even though, you could see he couldn’t quite manage full tilt,” Wilder said. “That’s why he didn’t go away."

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