Sheffield United: Blades are handed a major boost ahead of their crunch clash at West Bromwich Albion
The defenders were both ruled-out of last weekend's 4-0 win over Reading, with O'Connell nursing a tight hamstring and Baldock damaging a calf muscle during the fixture with Middlesbrough.
O'Connell was close to declaring himself available for the visit of José Manuel Gomes' team before United decided to err on the side of caution and although Chris Wilder had already elected against risking Baldock, the manager said:
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Hide Ad"Jack was nearly there to face Reading and we're hoping George is going to be okay. Fingers crossed, and we'll see how they go."
If Baldock does recover in time to travel to The Hawthorns, Wilder must decide whether or not to hand the wing-back an immediate recall of persist with Kieron Freeeman, who opened the scoring as United swept Reading aside and climbed to second in the table.
Despite travelling to the Midlands unbeaten in five outings, winning three and drawing two, coaching staff are expected to name Chris Basham in the starting eleven which faces Darren Moore's team after the centre-half completed a two match ban.
"Bash is back and we're hopeful on George,so, fingers crossed, we should be going to there with a full compliment," Wilder said.