Sheffield United: 'Go out there and tear it up,' World Cup duo are told

With the tournament set to get underway tomorrow, when the host nation Qatar face Ecuador, the United duo travelled to the Middle East earlier this week after being selected by Senegal and Wales respectively.

Speaking after watching them help his side climb to second in the Championship table before the domestic fixture schedule was placed on hold until next month, Heckingbottom told The Star: “They’ll learn so much, they’ll come back to us, I’m sure, all the better for being out there. How can you not? They’ll be coming up against, working with and watching, some of the best players out there. They’ll be exposed to different ways of doing things, different tactics and cultures.

“Representing your country at the World Cup, that’s the very pinnacle of the game. You can’t go any higher than that and because they’ll reap the benefits, that should mean we will as well.”

Ndiaye’s hopes of spearheading the reigning African champions’ attack appear to have been enhanced by news that Sadio Mane, the Bayern Munich forward, has been ruled out of Aliou Cisse’s plans by a hamstring complaint - the same injury which prevented Rhys Norrington-Davies from joining his United team mate Davies in the Welsh squad.