Sheffield United sound a note of alarm about fresh injuries

Bogle missed last night’s visit to Huddersfield Town with a dislocated thumb, which Bramall Lane’s medical department are yet to decide requires surgery to heal properly. Lowe, another key member of the club’s promotion winning squad, was substituted during the opening exchanges of the meeting with Neil Warnock’s side after complaining of discomfort in a calf muscle. Like Bogle, his former Derby County team mate, the 25-year-old faces an anxious wait to discover if the problem is serious enough to require a prolonged period of rehabilitation.

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“Max felt his calf,” Heckingbottom, the United manager, told The Star. “He felt something in there and so we were never going to take the risk. We’re hoping it’s just a warning but we’ll wait and see. Fingers crossed that’s all it is.”

Given the strides he has taken in a United jersey this season, after also helping Nottingham Forest reach the Premier League during a spell on loan at the City Ground last term, United will be bitterly disappointed if Lowe’s condition affects his preparations for their return to the top-flight. With so many key members of his team approaching the end of their present contracts and a series of off-the-pitch issues preventing Heckingbottom from beginning his latest reprofiling exercise, United’s coaching staff are desperate to have a full complement of players at their disposal when training resumes later this summer.

“We’ll see how they are,” Heckingbottom said. “I doubt either will be involved (against City).”

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