Paul Heckingbottom confirms Sheffield United injury worry after Middlesbrough draw | OneFootball

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that Billy Sharp was forced off with an ankle injury in the draw at Middlesbrough this afternoon.

The influential Blades skipper has had a disrupted pre-season but having made three substitute appearances in recent weeks, the 36-year-old was handed a first start of the campaign at the Riverside Stadium.

And, whilst Sharp played his part in what was an entertaining encounter, he was replaced at the break and Heckingbottom told the Sheffield Star it was down to an injury he picked up.

“Bill’s done his ankle. He was limping and we tried to strap it but we can’t get a break with that. Ozzy did his ankle the other day when we’re trying to manage him and we’re getting niggles we don’t need. Fingers crossed Bill’s not too bad but we won’t know until he settles down.”

Rhian Brewster replaced the experienced striker as he builds up his own fitness following injury, whilst Oli McBurnie came on for the final ten minutes as well.

11 quickfire quiz questions about Sheffield United’s stadium that all Blades supporters should get correct

1 of 11

What is the capacity of the stadium?

27,450 29,250 32,050 34,560

The verdict

Firstly, this is a real shame for Sharp as he will be hugely frustrated after the stop-start beginning to his season.

With Heckingbottom’s comments, it seems apparent we won’t know the full extent of his setback for another few days and all connected to the club will be hoping it’s nothing serious.

Perhaps the only positive is that Brewster and McBurnie are now back in contention, so Heckingbottom isn’t in a desperate situation with his strikers.