Sheffield United striker is "medically fit" to face Middlesbrough

The centre-forward, who scored his 11th goal of the season against Swansea City last weekend, has been troubled by an ankle issue in recent weeks having undergone hernia surgery before Christmas.

Although Paul Heckingbottom says McBurnie is now fully recovered from those complaints, he conceded coaching staff at Bramall Lane are still helping the Scotland international improve his conditioning in order to “get him back to the levels” he was reaching earlier this term.

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But with captain Billy Sharp set to miss the meeting with Michael Carrick’s side through injury, McBurnie’s availability is a major boost for second placed United as they prepare to lock horns with the Championship’s third ranked team.

“Oli is fine, medically fit, there’s no problems,” the United manager said. “Fitness-wise, he needs the get back to the levels of where we had him before. In terms of that,. He’s missed quite a lot of football (lately) and so the minutes he’s getting now will do him the power of good. He’s getting there.”

Given the importance of tomorrow night’s fixture, McBurnie appears set to spearhead United’s attack alongside Iliman Ndiaye - who has netted 10 times so far this term. But Daniel Jebbison’s return from suspension means Heckingbottom could be tempted to withdraw McBurnie during the closing stages; something he did during the visit to Rotherham earlier this month.

“We brought him off at Rotherham and that was the right call, because of exactly where he’s at,” he continued. “He’s medically fit, as I say. He’s training and getting those minutes.”

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