The Blades are still suffering from an injury crisis, with Rhys Norrington-Davies and Rhian Brewster yet to kick a ball since their hamstring injuries from last season. However, the latter has trained with the squad this week, albeit not fully.
Meanwhile, Sheffield United have had even more players absent from pre-season after several recurring injuries over the summer. Oli McBurnie has picked up another issue with his foot, but scans have shown a positive sign. Paul Heckingbottom told Yorkshire Live:
“With Oli Mac, his scan showed swelling and bruising around an old fracture, luckily it’s not fractured.”
It will be massively disappointing for McBurnie because he played 45 minutes in United’s first pre-season game against Chesterfield. The injury has hindered his fitness preparation ahead of the Crystal Palace game. Heckingbottom revealed on BBC Radio Sheffield that the striker will start running later this week.
Last season McBurnie started the campaign off in fine form, ultimately ending up on 13 Championship goals. The Scottish international battled through the pain barrier and played with a niggling foot injury for a while.
The United boss also detailed the injury updates on Jayden Bogle and Ismaila Coulibaly:
“There was good news on Jayden and Issie. Jayden’s knee had swollen up, the bottom of it he has had a little bit of a screw removed, so hopefully get the swelling down and he’ll be back going again with us in a few weeks.
“Issie the same; his swelling is coming down and he’s had treatment on it. Probably as good as we could have hoped with them.”
Another player that has been absent from the squad is Bénie Traoré, due to visa processing issues, although, Heckingbottom revealed on BBC Radio Sheffield that the Ivorian forward is due to fly in tonight.
