Sheffield United’s injury woes have struck hard, even though the season is just four games old. This alarming situation, as described by Paul Heckingbottom, shows no signs of improvement.
Since the beginning of pre-season, a total of 12 players have fallen victim to injuries. Some injuries, like Yasser Larouci and John Egan’s knocks against Everton, are part of the game, while others, like Max Lowe when he fell on a sprinkler, are unusual and massively unlucky.
Unfortunate incidents have also plagued players like Daniel Jebbison, who faced both a groin issue and a health issue, and John Fleck, who suffered a fracture in a friendly. There are even reports suggesting that the injury count might reach 13 with news of Anel Ahmedhodzic’s injury during international duty with Bosnia.
Out of the 12 injuries, eight occurred during matches, including pre-season and the first four league games. Two injuries stemmed from training, and two are believed to be related to previous injuries.
Last season’s injury crisis, which nearly derailed their promotion campaign and impacted their title race with Burnley, was primarily attributed to training and centered on soft tissue injuries. Paul Heckingbottom blamed the amount of injuries last season on the training pitch, this forced the club to relay new training pitches last year.
Now, the Blades are just getting unlucky with these impact injuries. It is disheartening to all when you’ve looked to have built some decent squad depth in the summer for only injuries to take a wrecking ball to it.