Sheffield United’s stars “buzzing” to have key man back from injury after long fitness battle

Seven months and 20 days since his last appearance, a long wait of 232 days, Jayden Bogle stepped back onto the pitch for a competitive Blades game as a substitute for the last half an hour and, played out of position at left wing-back, showed some glimpses of why his comeback has been so anticipated.

The former Derby man offers genuine competition for George Baldock on the right and also valuable cover on the left, where United have been decimated through injuries. Reda Khadra, the forward, filled in there against Birmingham before being replaced by Bogle.

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With Bogle only having 45 minutes in the Blades’ U21 side and that half an hour cameo under his belt, boss Paul Heckingbottom and his coaching staff now face a dilemma over whether to risk him from the start against QPR on Tuesday evening after his return from a knee injury.

“The boys are buzzing in there to see Jayden back,” Oli McBurnie, who scored the opener against Birmingham before the Blades were pegged back, said.

“I spoke to him before the game and he said it's seven months since his last game. Which is crazy when you think about it.

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“It's really good to see Jayden and the skip [Billy Sharp] back out there, and we’ve got a lot more bodies hopefully coming back in the near future that will definitely help us.

“We haven’t been able to take advantage of the five subs rule because the squad’s been depleted. With the extra boost, hopefully we can kick on.”

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Bogle, still only 22, scored three times in his last 12 games of last season before his campaign was prematurely ended when the decision to undergo knee surgery was taken.

His absence was keenly felt, especially when Baldock suffered injury troubles of his own, with United forced to experiment with rookie Femi Seriki and then left-footed midfielder Ben Osborn at right wing-back during the Championship run-in.

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