Sheffield United: liman Ndiaye and Oli McBurnie doubts mean this could be Reda Khadra's moment

With Oli McBurnie’s potential readiness also shrouded in doubt, having undergone surgery to repair a hernia midway through last month, that could see Reda Khadra handed another opportunity to kick start his career in South Yorkshire during Saturday’s meeting with Mark Fotheringham’s squad. Potentially, if both of United’s leading scorers so far this term are ruled-out of the match, alongside captain Billy Sharp - another player who has enjoyed limited opportunities in the starting eleven since August.

Speaking before Ndiaye and his countrymen were knocked out of the tournament in Qatar following a 3-0 defeat by England, Heckingbottom was adamant that the 22-year-old would be pitched straight back into the team when he reported back for duty at the Randox Health Academy. But the United manager has previous when it comes to playing mind games with opponents, frequently asking people to perform pre-match media duties before it quickly became apparent they were not going to feature.

Having told The Star that “giving minutes” to “those lads who need them” would be one of his priorities during the pause in the domestic fixture schedule, and knowing that the Senegalese could go deep in the Middle East, it seems unlikely that working with Khadra, on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, and Sharp, who turns 37 in February, did not feature prominently on Heckingbottom’s ‘to do’ list.

“There’s people who would benefit from that,” he explained. “So that’s definitely one of the things we’re going to be looking to do over this period. It’s not a holiday.”

McBurnie and Ndiaye, who was pictured limping after being withdrawn at half-time against Gareth Southgate’s side, have been responsible for 51 percent of the goals United have claimed in league competition this term. Being without one, or both, would deal a major blow to their hopes of maintaining the momentum they built up following last month’s victory over Cardiff City which left them second in the Championship table. Ndiaye has also been involved in a fifth of the 35 United have netted during their last 21 outings.

Khadra, by contrast, has completed only 20 percent of the minutes available to him after struggling to recapture the form he demonstrated during a similar spell with Blackburn Rovers last season. However, Heckingbottom has insisted that Khadra still has an important role to perform for United as they chase promotion back to the Premier League.

With fellow forward Rhian Brewster likely to be out for the foreseeable future after damaging a hamstring, that could begin against Town who are propping up the rest of the division following a difficult start to the campaign.

Fotheringham was appointed in September, when his predecessor Danny Schofield, now of Doncaster Rovers, was sacked. The Scot has previously enjoyed spells on the coaching staff of Karlsruhe and Hertha Berlin, where he worked under Felix Magath.