Sheffield United hail midfielder's return following win over Watford, as striker suffers injury

After recovering from the injury which threatened to interrupt his campaign, Fleck completed an hour of the 1-0 victory over Watford; his biggest contribution in terms of minutes since the beginning of November.

MORE: Fans challenged

Speaking after a win which saw second-placed United move seven points clear of Middlesbrough in third, with their rivals from Teesside being beaten at West Bromwich Albion, Heckingbottom said: “We know what a big player John can be for us. That’s why, at the moment, we want to use him sparingly. We know how important he can be. Not just regarding his quality, but also because he’s been in these situations before.”

Fleck was diagnosed with a fractured leg last year, before a blow to the exact area where the break occurred complicated his recovery.

The Scotland international is a veteran of United’s last promotion from the Championship and Heckingbottom said: “We’re not expecting him to be back to his best yet, because his last 90 minutes, or nearly 90 minutes, was against Burnley (in November). Before that, it was Blackburn (Rovers, in August) so we are conscious about how much football he’s missed.”

Ryan Porteous’ own goal proved enough to settle a contest Ciaran Clark missed for tactical reasons. The defender was a notable absentee on the bench but Heckingbottom, who confirmed Oli McBurnie fractured a finger before being substituted, said: “With Ciaran, it was just because we had cover and I like to get as many forwards on as I can.”