In pursuit of an instant return to the Premier League, Sheffield United have suffered an early blow in the form of the latest injury news, with one star now set to miss this weekend’s Portsmouth clash and potentially more.
Sheffield United injury news
With their promotion ambitions in mind, The Blades have started the season in excellent form, with four wins and two draws making for an unbeaten start for Chris Wilder’s side. Last time out featured yet another moment to savour too, with Gustavo Hamer’s stunning free-kick proving to be the winning goal against newly-promoted Derby County.
Up next, meanwhile, the Blades travel to Portsmouth in an attempt to beat their second newly-promoted side in as many weeks. Given that Portsmouth are yet to win a single game in their Championship return too, Wilder’s side should earn all three points in comfortable fashion. That said, Sheffield United will have to secure victory without one key man after the latest injury news.
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As confirmed by Wilder and relayed by the Yorkshire Post, Oliver Arblaster will now miss the Portsmouth game and no timeline has been set for his return in a major blow for Sheffield United.
Wilder told reporters when questioned on whether Arblaster stands a chance of making the Portsmouth trip: “No, he hasn’t. It’s an ongoing situation, so we miss him. It’s part and parcel of what the game is all about, so we have to deal with it and I thought we dealt with it admirably last Saturday against Derby. There’s no idea on the timescale.”
Missing his second game on the bounce, Arblaster will be a frustrated figure after scoring twice in his opening five Championship games to get off to a solid start. Now, however, any momentum that he did have building has come to a crashing halt.
"Brillant" Arblaster is a huge miss
After spending the first-half of last season on loan at Port Vale, Arblaster returned to Sheffield United and hit the ground running under Wilder, only to suffer an ill-timed injury this season. With no timeline on his return, either, those at Bramall Lane may be left anticipating his return for longer than expected in a dent for their early push for the promotion places in the Championship.
The 20-year-old forward has earned plenty of praise during his time at Sheffield United, with former Blades striker Carl Asaba telling BBC Radio Sheffield’s Blades Heaven podcast last season: “His performances are brilliant. The way he played against Bournemouth was great. To deal with all the hype of the England Elite squad and then to go and score, it’s just brilliant.
“He will get a great reception from the lads. I remember when I was here and we had Phil Jagielka breaking into the youth ranks and coming through. When we saw him after international duty, we were full of praise and admiration.”
The task will now fall the way of Wilder to replace his young midfielder and ensure that his Sheffield United side maintain their form in their push for promotion.