Daniel Lafferty back training for Sheffield United

The Blades wing-back, who joined United on a permanent deal from Burnley this month, sat out the Saddlers game with a back problem.

Lafferty has been a stand-out performer to help United climb to the top of League One.

But without him at Walsall, the Blades slumped to their first away defeat for nearly five months - they last lost on the road back on August 20 at Millwall.

Lafferty returned to training today (Thursday) and is in contention for Saturday’s visit of Gillingham.

“We are hoping (he will be fit), he will be training today,” said Wilder.

“We have given him enough time to recover, sometime back issues are difficult to time.

“Hopefully he will come through training and give us the option of being involved, because he has played well when he has.”

The visit of Gillingham is the first of three successive Bramall Lane games, and Wilder sees it as an ideal period for United to bounce back after the Walsall defeat.

He said United’s players had returned to training in a positive mood this week, and refused to be too harsh on his table-toppers.

“I wasn’t surprised by the reaction from the players (in training), knowing what their character and mentality is like,” said Wilder.

“We were massively disappointed, it was a mad 20 minutes from our point of view. We never dealt with their counter attacks, made individual errors.

“Players were coming up to me on Monday and apologising, there’s no need, this is the game and players make individual errors.

“It’s the biggest defeat we have had all season, but I am not going to take a wrecking ball to (the team).

“There’s the same old bumps and bruises, but there wasn’t many missing on Monday morning. I think they recognise they needed to get back on the training ground and put a good shift in ahead of Saturday.”