Sheffield United suffer further John Fleck injury blow despite Oli McBurnie “bonus” hope

John Fleck’s injury frustration has continued after the Sheffield United midfielder was forced to undergo another operation after fracturing his leg for the second time in a year. Fleck suffered a similar injury last August, which was operated on and healed completely, before suffering another fracture in pre-season against Girona.

The Scottish international missed two months of United’s promotion season with the previous injury issue, representing another significant blow for United as they look to make a quick start to life in the Premier League this time around.

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Fleck limped off early in United’s pre-season game against Girona, at Manchester City’s Etihad Campus training complex, with boss Paul Heckingbottom revealing that the 31-year-old has since undergone another operation. “His previous fracture was all healed brilliantly,” Heckingbottom said, “but unfortunately against Girona he suffered another tackle and another fracture. The plate has been removed and a new one put in on the new fracture.

“The problem last time was that he played on with it. You know what Flecky is like; he played on in the game and tried to carry on with it. He didn’t want the operation but had a couple of kicks on it still, which slowed the healing down and he eventually went in for the operation weeks later.

“Having the X-ray we know that it has 10 per cent healed so it wasn’t even a choice for him this time. We couldn’t afford the same thing, so he went straight in to get a plate on it.”

Fleck signed a one-year deal at Bramall Lane earlier this summer and the latest injury news is a big blow for him personally, especially with teammate Sander Berge on the verge of leaving for Burnley and Ollie Norwood missing time in pre-season due to a facial injury. United are already short on bodies going into the new season but hope for better news regarding strikers Oli McBurnie and Daniel Jebbison, who are battling foot and groin injuries respectively.

“I’m hoping we can get Oli training this week, which would be a big bonus for us,” said Heckingbottom, who denied that Jebbison’s injury is serious.