Chris Wilder confirms "huge" Sheffield United boost ahead of Preston | OneFootball

The Blades boss has been speaking on Kieffer Moore and Vini Souza ahead of Saturday's meeting with Preston.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder has labelled Kieffer Moore's return from injury as being a "big bonus", whilst also confirming Vini Souza is good to go for Saturday's clash with Preston.

Moore has spent time recovering over the last few weeks after undergoing hernia surgery in late January, but the 3-1 defeat to Leeds United on 24 February marked his return to the matchday squad for the first time since the 2-1 loss to Sunderland on 1 January.

As for Souza, he pulled up in the final minutes of the Blades' 2-1 away win over QPR on Saturday, and had signalled to the bench that he was struggling.

However, the Brazilian midfielder saw out the dying stages of the game, but there had been concern among supporters that he may have played through a significant injury problem.

"Absolutely huge" - Wilder believes Kieffer Moore will have big part to play in Sheffield United Premier League promotion push

Wilder isn't short of quality options to choose from to spearhead his attack, but he believes getting Moore back to full fitness ahead of the run-in will provide a significant boost to Sheffield United's Premier League promotion chances.

Speaking via The Star, he said: “It’s absolutely huge and another one for other clubs (to consider).

"There will be some players who haven’t played all season who will come back into the mix and other clubs will be going: ‘We’ve got him back and it’s a big bonus for us.’ And to have Kieffer back is a big bonus for us."

Despite now being 32, Moore has proven himself to still be a quality marksman at Championship level, with his seven goals in 18 league appearances whilst on loan with Ipswich Town last season proving vital to the Tractor Boys' top flight promotion.

"Going to have to put up with that!" - Chris Wilder offers thoughts on Vini Souza injury antics

With talismanic players, sometimes you have to just accept their quirkiness because of how vital they are to your team's success.

That appears to be the case for Wilder and his star central midfielder, Souza. The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the best centre-midfielders in the second tier this season, and is undoubtedly an essential component of Sheffield United's well-oiled Championship machine.

Speaking on his midfielder, Wilder said: “Vini was holding his hamstring when he gave the ball away, and then he was all right! I think sometimes we're just going to have to put up with that."

The Blades boss evidently saw the funny side to Souza's QPR antics, but he will not want to see his Brazilian go down with a genuine injury problem any time soon, as his absence from the starting XI could have a major impact on the team's performance.