Sheffield United injury update over Oli McBurnie, George Baldock, Ciaran Clark ahead of Hull City clash

McBurnie has not started a game since before the World Cup break, when he damaged an ankle against Rotherham United. He has only been seen briefly off the bench since, with Heckingbottom insisting recently that he would not name the striker in his matchday squad until he was in a position to play more than short cameos.

Confirming Ciaran Clark, George Baldock and Enda Stevens will not be fit for Friday night’s clash with Hull City at Bramall Lane, Heckingbottom added: “Oli has trained and Iliman [Ndiaye] is back in. Flecky and Ciaran are doing bits and pieces on the grass towards it, so that’s where we’re at.

Encouraging update over Ndiaye's fitness ahead of Blades' clash with Hull

"I want to involve him, we're leaning that way a little bit more because of his feedback and he's more confident with things. He’s got power back and feels like he can push off. That’s good, that’s what we want. It was Rotherham, his last start. That’s when he did his ankle. We're aware of what he's missed and how far behind he is.

"We will keep building him up and hopefully, we'll be able to use him and get him contributing towards getting us points while we’re getting him back to the level he was at.”

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McBurnie undertook a well-publicised lifestyle change in the summer and Heckingbottom added: “Everyone's seen it benefit him. The problem now is the ankle roll v Rotherham.

“For me to see the amount of effort and time Oli and all of us put in, to get him to the levels where he, for me, was right up there in the league. It's a setback but that’s all it is, and we'll have to go through the process again and give the same amount of time and energy to help him get back there.”

Stevens and Baldock will be out for “weeks” with the muscle injuries they picked up in training before the win over Stoke City, while John Fleck is back on the training pitch along with Newcastle loanee Clark.

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