Sheffield United key man Kieffer Moore rates fitness chances for Sheffield Wednesday clash amid injury worry

Chris Wilder has refused to rule Sheffield United striker Kieffer Moore out of Sunday’s Steel City derby against Wednesday after the Welsh international picked up a calf issue in Tuesday night’s victory at Bristol City. Moore was withdrawn about 11 minutes after coming off the bench at Ashton Gate and his slow walk back to the dressing room did not look great from a Blades perspective.

But he has had extensive treatment on the issue since the Blades landed back in the north on the back of their 2-1 victory, with United also hopeful of having Rhian Brewster back after his separate injury issue in the previous game at Blackburn Rovers. “They're obviously going to be the main talking points,” boss Wilder said of Moore and Brewster, “because of what happened on Tuesday and Saturday.

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“We’ll give them as much time as possible and if they are fit, then great. And if not we'll crack on. Straightaway Kieffer’s calf cramped up and tightened up but he's had extensive work and we'll give him as long as possible. I couldn't say after the game he's going to be 100 per cent right but he's not 100 per cent ruled out either. He'll get some work because he's been a big player for us but we've got to cope with it if he doesn’t make it.”

Moore himself cut a relaxed figure as he faced the media at United’s Shirecliffe training base ahead of Sunday’s game, the first fixture between the two rivals since 2019. “I’m recovering fairly well. I’ve still got 48 or so hours before the game and trying to recover as best as possible. It's hard to say at the minute but I'm very hopeful.

“These things can be tricky, but there's still 48 hours to go and I'm very hopeful to play in this game. For the fans and for the city, it's everything. It's a massive, massive game. You don't want to get caught up too much in it but this is more than just a game. You want to go in with a calm head and play your best football.”

Jamie Shackleton is also back in contention after missing Tuesday’s trip to Bristol City with illness, with Wilder unwilling to risk the midfielder passing on the bug to the rest of the squad ahead of such a big game. The former Leeds man has trained for the last couple of days and could return to the squad ahead of the meeting with Danny Rohl’s side.