'Not looking great' - Leeds United's Championship promotion rivals Sheffield United face major injury concern for Sheffield Wednesday clash
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Sheffield United climbed above Leeds United into second after beating Bristol City on Tuesday but face an anxious wait over the fitness of Kieffer Moore, who limped off injured.
The Blades looked set for defeat at Ashton Gate before goals from Ryan One and Harrison Burrows - the latter coming in the 98th minute - turned the tide late on. A big win was somewhat overshadowed by the injury to Moore, however, with the striker coming off the bench but lasting just 11 minutes.
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Hide AdThe Welsh international received on pitch treatment for what looked to be a calf injury before trudging around the pitch and straight down the tunnel. While he was benched initially, Moore has been Wilder’s first-choice striker all season and so could be a huge miss, particularly given the Blades host Steel City rivals Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
“He’s felt his calf,” Wilder told The Star of Moore. “We’re not trying to dress anything up, we’ll assess him over the next 24/48 hours but it’s not looking great at the moment. I’m not trying to play mind games or anything, we can’t hide that. He’s a warrior, he’s been bashed about and he’s really unfortunate with his landing after he’s gone up.
“So we’ll give him 24/48 hours because he’s a big player but if we have to go with Ryan [one], we’ll go with Ryan. If we have to go with Rhian [Brewster] or Tyrese [Campbell], that’s how it is. It’s a little bit of a test for us because we’ve been very good. Rhian only just missed out so fingers crossed he’ll be back for the weekend and if we lose players, it’s a young group and it’s up to them to step up to the plate as they have done tonight.”
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Hide AdKey midfielder Oliver Arblaster also started on the bench at Ashton Gate and is carrying a knock, while Rhian Brewster missed out due to injury. Wilder made a number of changes for the midweek trip in the midst of what he described as a ‘punishing schedule of Championship football’.
Pressure back on Leeds
The result at Bristol means Leeds will kick off against Millwall this evening in third place, two points behind Sheffield United. Only victory at the Den will see Daniel Farke’s side climb back into the automatic promotion places, with another tough test on the horizon against a Lions outfit boasting three straight wins - including a 1-0 win over Burnley on Sunday.
Farke is also managing the fitness of several players ahead of the usual festive fixture chaos, with late decisions to be made on Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt ahead of this evening’s game. Dan James came through Saturday’s 3-0 win at home to Plymouth Argyle without a flare up of his recurring hamstring issue, while Manor Solomon and Max Wober are also being slowly worked back to full sharpness.
There was some positive news on the injury front, however, with Farke revealing club captain Ethan Ampadu is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a serious knee injury. The Welshman was initially pencilled in for a January return but his manager admitted a sense of cautious optimism over a slightly earlier comeback.