Sheffield United could welcome loan man Ciaran Clark back to action against Wrexham, manager Paul Heckingbottom has revealed.
Sheffield United defender Clark has been sidelined through injury for the vast majority of his season-long spell with the Blades.
He enjoyed a successful run in the side from mid-November to the New Year but after missing the FA Cup win over Millwall a month ago, the former Republic of Ireland international hasn’t returned to action since. Clark was an unused substitute against Rotherham United last time out though, presenting a positive step forward.
Now, with an FA Cup fourth round replay against Wrexham around the corner, a fresh update has emerged on the defender.
As quoted by Yorkshire Live, Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom has said that after returning to training last week, he will make a return against the Red Dragons, although he will not play the full 90 minutes. When asked if he will feature, Heckingbottom said:
“Possibly.
“He trained the back end of last week and did a training session on Saturday back here after the game had three sessions if we can get him the chance to get some minutes we will do it but it won’t be 90 minutes.”
A welcome return…
Although Sheffield United have some good depth at the back, having Clark available again will be a boost for Heckingbottom.
Jack Robinson is a solid left-footed centre-back option and put in a good display against Rotherham United but he has had his critics, so a more physical and experienced figure in Clark could be a better option in the back three.
A defence of Clark, John Egan and Anel Ahmedhodzic looked solid in their brief time together before Clark’s latest injury, so it will be interesting to see if the Blades revert to that setup once the Newcastle United loan man is back to 100%.
The clash with Wrexham should be a good way to ease him back into the action, be it from the start or as a second-half substitute.
