“Not great...” - Tom Davies' latest Sheffield United fitness frustration raises Bramall Lane future question marks
“Not great...” - Tom Davies suffers more Sheffield United fitness frustration after latest injury setback clarified
Tom Davies, the Sheffield United midfielder, has suffered another setback in his bid for fitness after missing Sunday’s Steel City derby win over Wednesday at Hillsborough. The former England U21 international has consistently struggled with injuries since he arrived at Bramall Lane two years ago.
He has shown signs of his obvious quality during his time on the pitch and had been earmarked as a key man in United’s bid to turn their season around after a poor start. But he has been restricted to just five appearances so far, the most recent coming against QPR before the international break after recovering from a calf injury.
He was then a noticeable absentee from the matchday squad for the Hillsborough victory, with boss Chris Wilder subsequently suggesting that the 27-year-old will miss at least four of the Blades’ upcoming games as the festive fixtures begin to pile up.
“Yeah, he's had a setback,” said Wilder. “He pulled out of training a couple of weeks ago regarding his calf. So, that was obviously not a great situation for us. It’ll be two or three weeks, which is a big blow. Tom's been good and been influential every time he's got on the pitch.”
Gus Hamer was restricted to a late cameo appearance off the bench as United ran out 3-0 winners at Hillsborough, after his recent absence with a knee ligament injury. He had trained throughout the international break but Wilder said: “He has 20, 25 minutes maximum.
“That would have been a physical substitution, but I thought Brooksy [Andre Brooks] and Callum [O’Hare] did a great job for us. In the second half, they protected the two full-backs. We had some young players out there as well.
“Femi [Seriki] and Sydie [Peck] and Brookesy. Some young academy boys coming through, which is good for everybody to see as well. The desire of the team was good, the commitment of the team was good. The execution of the game plan was good. In both boxes, we were good. So, we get that result and move on.”
Hamer may get some more minutes in the upcoming games against Portsmouth and Leicester City this week as United build up his fitness, while Oliver Arblaster may return to the matchday squad after his lengthy absence with an ACL injury.
But Davies’ latest injury issue will raise more questions about his long-term future at Bramall Lane, with his current deal set to expire next summer. He has made just 30 appearances in all competitions since arriving, nine of them from the start.