Sheffield United handed midfield injury boost ahead of Championship trip to Portsmouth
Sheffield United will set off for Pompey on Tuesday afternoon, with former England midfielder Kalvin Phillips among the Blades’ travelling party
Sheffield United have been handed an injury boost ahead of their midweek Championship trip to Portsmouth.
Former England international Kalvin Phillips will travel with his Blades team-mates down to the south coast after sitting out the Bramall Lane’s side’s 3-0 win against Lincoln on Saturday.
The victory took some of the heat off manager Chris Wilder, who had overseen three straight defeats immediately before the international break.
Phillips’ return from a tight abductor will also go a long way to help the former Oxford boss’ situation at United, with the Manchester City midfielder on loan from the Etihad Stadium for a second spell.
But there remains one downside for Pompey’s next opponents. Femi Seriki continues to be sidelined with a knee injury he picked up at the end of August, with his absence likely to see midfielder Hamza Choudhury continue to deputise at right-back for Wednesday night’s game at Fratton Park.
‘Kalvin's fit and available,’ confirmed Wilder, who also welcomed back Tahith Chong, Ryan One and Harrison Burrows against the Imps at the weekend.
‘I'm delighted that he is and delighted that we're travelling down to Portsmouth this afternoon.’
In regards to Seriki’s comeback from injury, he added: ‘He (Seriki) won't be available for Wednesday night and Saturday (against Bristol City). We need to build him up.
‘It's a difficult one with no reserve games either. It's the odd under-21 game. He needs to build himself back up to speed.
‘And as well, he's missed a lot of football, he's not been a short injury.
‘And for him to stay healthy and fit for hopefully the next three quarters of the season or however long it is (is important). He's a player that we've missed.
‘We've missed Harrison (Burrows), we've missed (Tahith) Chong, we've missed Ryan One. So to get all those back now is a massive bonus. And Femi is pushing.
‘Hamza (Choudhury) has done great in that position but Femi coming back in is really important.’
The returns of Burrows, Chong and One on Saturday meant there was no room in the Blades’ match-day squad for defender Rhys Norrington-Davies, who was linked with a move to Pompey in the summer.
Blues head coach John Mousinho goes into the Sheffield United game without the injured Conor Shaughnessy, Benjy Arthur, Connor Ogilvie, Luke Brooke-Smith, Thomas Waddingham, Franco Umeh and Mark Kosznovszky.
Pompey’s last game was their 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the south-coast derby.
That result leaves them 19th in the Championship table - five points and four places worse off than the Blades, who have played one game more.