Vini Souza latest amid concern over Sheffield United man after purported "car crash" photos shared online

Vini Souza is fit and available for Sheffield United’s clash with Derby County this weekend, manager Chris Wilder has confirmed, after concern over the Brazilian midfielder was sparked by images of what appeared to be his crashed car this week. Photographs apparently of Souza’s car in a ditch were shared online this week, although it was unclear whether the United man was behind the wheel when it happened and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

The midfielder has trained as usual after the incident and is in line to keep his place against Paul Warne’s Rams tomorrow, in what would be a significant boost for Wilder’s men given his good form so far this season. “I knew about it,” Wilder said of the car incident. “He’s fine. He’s trained so he’s back playing and he’ll be available for Saturday.”

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Souza has earned rave reviews for turning around his United career in the early part of this season after a difficult debut campaign in South Yorkshire following his arrival last summer. He was even booed onto the field by some sections of supporters last season but has won the fans’ respect by knuckling down over the summer, with chants of his name heard from the away end during last Friday’s impressive 2-0 win away at Hull City.

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Speaking in this weekend’s matchday programme Souza thanked fans for sticking by him and Wilder added of his connection with Unitedites: “"He has to start that process off, which he has done, by playing well and being fully committed. Which they have been, whether it’s him or Anel [Ahmedhodzic] or Gus [Hamer], the ones that were talked about in the summer.

“They do their talking on the pitch, by actions and then that will get reciprocated by the actions of our supporters, which you’ve seen. He needs to keep that going, he can’t just do it for five games. Neither can Anel or Gus or any of us. We have to be consistent with our approach and I’m sure Vini has got that connection. He needs to keep it going by being fully committed to the cause.”