Latest Sheffield United injury blow puts Sander Berge and Jayden Bogle out until December

The division goes on hold in mid-November, resuming in the Blades' case at home to Huddersfield Town on December 10. Manager Paul Heckingbottom does not think Berge and Bogle will be available before then.

It takes the edge off the news Anel Ahmedhozic and George Baldock should be fit to return for Saturday's Championship visit of Blackpool.

Bogle's is a knock-on effect from successful knee surgery, whilst Berge suffered ankle ligament damage against Queens Park Rangers. Initially his problem was thought to be with the knee too.

“He’s ruptured an ankle ligament," explained Heckingbottom. "He doesn’t need surgery. Everything is strong around it. He just needs to rest.”

Norway have not qualified for the World Cup, which starts in Qatar on November 20, eight days after Sheffield United are at Cardiff City.

Bogle played two matches in three days after eight months out but is now sidelined again.

He had metal inserted in the joint to protect the repair work, and this is now causing him a problem.

"Some of the metal has slipped and it was catching the back of his knee," explained his manager.

“The repair was fine. They’ve opened him up, taken it out and put it back. He’ll be (missing for) a number of weeks.

"It was just the metalwork catching, the surgery was a success. But it was a false dawn for us and Jayden.”

Oli McBurnie is back from suspension and John Fleck has resumed training after a broken leg but is not yet ready to play. The Blades hope Baldock and Ahmedhodzic will feature against the Tangerines but with Enda Stevens, Max Lowe, Jack Robinson, Ciaran Clark, Ben Osborn, Ismaila Coulibaly and Jack O'Connell still out, their injury list is concerning, not least because it is hard to explain.

"We've had all these contact injuries, we've been having a real good look at the injuries," admitted Heckingbottom. "Last season, the soft tissue stuff was virtually the same even though we've played more games, had more games away from home, more travel, more international players playing 90s.

"The frustrating thing for us is all these random ones, Ozzie (Osborn) and Bill (Sharp) standing on people, contact ones, fouls, collisions..."You've always got to find a way. What we did have to do in spells last season was adapt to having two left-footers playing on the right, to playing without (specialist) strikers, to changing wing-backs. Recently, we've had to adapt to the left-siders missing, and then been stretched at the back and going to a back four.

"Certain things have conspired against us. But it'll get it'll get better."

The Blades are unbeaten in the Bosnian centre-back’s nine Championship matches this season, and have picked up one point from the four games he sat out.

"That's a good stat," said Heckingbottom, "but there's loads of things which are coincidental."

Meanwhile, the Blades will play at Wigan Athletic on the Monday before Christmas after the game was delayed two days for live television coverage.