Rhian Brewster has returned to Sheffield United’s training sessions as he continues his journey towards full fitness after undergoing hamstring surgery. To ensure his progress remains on course, the striker had another scan scheduled for yesterday.
Brewster has been sidelined for a lengthy 11 months due to his second hamstring injury, which occurred during the 2-0 victory against West Brom. He underwent surgery and is currently in the process of rehabilitation. During his recovery, he began with individual training upon returning from Portugal and has recently progressed to participating in team sessions. Nonetheless, there is still a cautious approach to his return, considering his recent injury history spanning the past two seasons. Another scan was scheduled to ensure his continued progress.
Paul Heckigbottom said: “He has another scan today [Thursday], which we hope goes well. He’s been training, we are just going through everything bit by bit. He’s been doing a lot of work and a lot of training with us and he’s keen to join in but with his history, everyone is trying to protect him from himself at the minute and make sure every box is ticked.” [ Examiner Live]
Additionally, John Fleck is believed to have taken his initial steps back onto the training field following surgery for a fracture.
The midfielder experienced a second fracture during a pre-season match against Girona, shortly after recovering from a similar injury in the previous season. He made a brief return but faced another setback during the match against Rotherham, necessitating surgery. Subsequently, he underwent a repeat of the procedure, but now, he’s off the treatment and back on the training field.
Meanwhile Rhys Norrington-Davies is making strides in his recovery from a significant hamstring injury.
Similar to Brewster’s situation, the defender has been sidelined for 11 months due to a severe hamstring injury sustained in October of the previous year, necessitating surgical intervention. While his recovery is somewhat more intricate, he continues to make progress on the path to regaining full fitness.
On the other hand, Daniel Jebbison remains sidelined due to illness, and there is currently no specific timeframe for his return. Meanwhile, Max Lowe underwent surgery for ankle ligament damage caused by an incident where he stepped on a sprinkler during Derby’s pre-season. Ben Osborn has also encountered a severe groin injury, although it didn’t require surgical treatment.
Both Osborn and Lowe are expected to remain out of action for an extended period.
The Blades have been handed a boost to their midfield with Anis Slimane working hard to get minutes into his legs with Sheffield United’s development team. The 22-year-old has featured a few times for the academy side, more recently against Cardiff City where he played 70 minutes in a 6-2 win in which he scored an excellent freekick.
Tom Davies is also close to a return having made full use of the international break to get himself fit. But now the next stage is to get match fitness and sharpness back, which he’ll likely find in the development team, like Anis Slimane and Jayden Bogle have recently done.