Devastating Sheffield United injury blow confirmed as boss's 'never say never' comment proves prophetic

Sheffield United have suffered a devastating new injury blow after confirmation of the latest setback for striker Rhian Brewster. The former Liverpool man made only his third start of the season last weekend at Wolves and his positive performance gave hope that he had turned the corner at Bramall Lane.

But Brewster has suffered an injury recurrence in the build-up to tonight's clash at home to Arsenal and looks set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines. It is another significant setback for both club and player, who has spoken openly about the physical and mental challenge of overcoming his previous injury frustration and was looking forward to putting it behind him.

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Brewster joins fellow forward Cameron Archer in the treatment room just days after manager Chris Wilder said at his pre-Arsenal press conference that both he and Brewster were confident that the 23-year-old's injury issues were now behind him. "Yeah, we are," Wilder said. "You can never say never but we're all delighted that he got through that shift that he put in on Sunday, for 75 minutes. We wanted to keep him on the pitch because he was a threat going deep into the game.

"He's had no reaction, the players had a couple of days off and then back into work. He trained yesterday and he trained today [Thursday] and not feeling anything. So he comes through, you can never say never because obviously there is a little bit of history there but he deserves a break and he deserves a bit of luck going forward. I think even the most negative of Sheffield United supporters will hopefully wish him all the best because he certainly deserves that for the amount of effort he's put in to get himself fit."

Will Osula could get another chance to impress in Brewster's absence, with fellow forwards Ben Brereton Diaz and Oli McBurnie both making their way back from their own recent injury absences. Brewster's start at Wolves was only his 30th in the league since his move from Liverpool, for an initial £18.5m fee, back in 2020 and he is now in the final 18 months of the initial five-year deal he signed at the time.