Sheffield United starlet sends message from hospital after concerning injury saw him stretchered off

Sheffield United starlet Oliver Arblaster sent a message to Port Vale fans from hospital last night after being stretchered off in his loan side’s League Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.

The highly-rated 19-year-old has enjoyed a good season so far with the League One side but could now face a spell on the sidelines after a tackle left him with a nasty gash around his knee, and in a lot of pain. After treatment on the field Arblaster left on a stretcher and was taken to hospital for further assessment and treatment.

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Boro were already 3-0 up and the injury to Arblaster only compounded Vale’s misery in their quarter-final clash, with manager Andy Crosby admitting Arblaster’s condition was “a much bigger concern”.

“It was a really deep gash around his knee and I think it’s gone right down to the bone, so he’s obviously in a lot of pain,” Crosby said. “He’s just gone to hospital now so obviously he’s our number one concern at this moment in time.”

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Arblaster later updated fans on his condition via his Twitter account, posting along with a tear and ‘strong’ emoji: “Hospital most of the night with still no sleep. Gutted tonight wasn’t enough from us … all needed to be better than we was. Just want to say a massive thanks to the [Vale] fans for the support and messages. I’ll be fighting to come back stronger … see you all soon!”

Crosby, a former United assistant manager under Nigel Adkins, added: “He has been so good for us both on and off the pitch and embraced everything we try to do. He has bought into the culture and environment of the club. Fingers crossed it is not as bad as it could be.”