Sheffield United dealt Oliver Arblaster injury blow ahead of Portsmouth trip as key duo return
Sheffield United dealt Oliver Arblaster injury blow ahead of Portsmouth trip as key duo return
Sheffield United will be without stand-in skipper Oliver Arblaster for this weekend’s trip to Portsmouth, manager Chris Wilder has confirmed, in a real injury blow to the Blades. The 20-year-old, who has led his side in Jack Robinson’s absence, missed last weekend’s victory over Derby County after suffering a freak injury in training.
The midfielder attended Bramall Lane with his damaged ankle in a protective boot, with Wilder initially hopeful that he would recover in time for the long trip to the south coast. But those hopes look to have been dashed, with Arblaster’s fellow youngster Sydie Peck primed to keep his place in the middle of midfield alongside Vini Souza.
Asked whether Arblaster had a chance of featuring at Fratton Park, Wilder replied: “No, he hasn’t. It’s an ongoing situation, so we miss him. It’s part and parcel of what the game is all about, so we have to deal with it and I thought we dealt with it admirably last Saturday against Derby.”
Wilder admitted there is no current timescale with his key man, but there was better news with the returns to training of Jack Robinson and Tom Davies after their own absences. “They have both been introduced back into training, so we are delighted with both of those boys,” Wilder added.
"They have got a huge part to play with us this season. Everybody knows about Jack and his influence around the place and what he does from a playing point of view. And Tom Davies; we have in no way seen anything like what he can produce and we will be absolutely delighted when we get them back fully integrated into the first-team group.
“They are two massive players coming back into the group who will no doubt help us to try and win games of football. Tom is going to have two or three weeks back training and then a mini pre-season. Everybody has got to understand that as well. When players go away for the summer, they are usually pretty fit and conditioned and go away and come back and need four or five weeks of pre-season training.
“Especially for Tom, in missing all of pre-season - and maybe not so long for Jack - we are looking at maybe the next international break and the back end of that. If we keep everybody else healthy and fit, bringing those two boys back will be a huge boost.”