Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder's key admission regarding Ollie Arblaster plus what he said to Danny Ings

Arblaster, out since suffering a serious ACL knee injury in the Steel City derby on November 10, 2024, only returned to the bench last weekend and was an unused substitute in the 4-0 victory over Stoke City.

Wilder had been hoping to ease the midfielder back into the first-team fray, but his hand was forced by a selection crisis prior to the 1-1 draw with Norwich.

A combination of injury concerns and illness meant that Wilder, whose side visit West Brom on Friday night - their third game in six days - was forced to make eight changes on Tuesday, with only Michael Cooper, Japhet Tanganga and Femi Seriki starting against the Potters.

Four starters from the weekend - centre-half Mark McGuinness, left-back Sam McCallum and central midfield duo Sydie Peck and Jairo Riedewald – were not involved at all, while the likes of Gus Hamer, Patrick Bamford and Tyrese Campbell dropped to the bench.

The absence of Peck and Riedewald forced Wilder to promote Arblaster, who was only told he would start on Tuesday morning.

Admitting that the 21-year-old would not have started if he had other options, Wilder - who said that the 24 to 48 hours before the Norwich match represented one of the most challenging pre-match build-ups he had ever experienced as a manager - said: "Absolutely, no chance.

"There was no way he was (normally) going to play 60 minutes. But we had another situation as well with a couple.

"For him all of a sudden to get chucked in just highlights where we were. Can he play 60 minutes? Yes, he can. Should he have played? No, he shouldn't have.

"He should have been eased in. Sometimes you just have to get on with it.

"We'll get players back for Friday and I suppose the biggest plus is that we've got a super player that's been out for 13 months, back on the pitch in a red and white shirt.

"I am delighted he got through and it's been an incredibly tough 12 or 13 months for him, personally.

"The biggest takeaway is his 60 minutes. He's going to be an important player, but yet again I'm going to have to look after him as well from a loading point of view."

Another midfielder in Tahith Chong came off against Norwich after coming off with a sore back and will be assessed ahead of the trip to the Midlands.

Alongside the return of Arblaster, the sight of Danny Ings scoring his first goal for the club represented the other main positive for United, who produced a mixed display on the night - not helped by the significant disruption.

Chasing a fifth successive victory for the first time since December 2022, the Blades took a relieving lead courtesy of Ings' tap-in on 50 minutes, with the experienced striker making up for a glaring miss in the opening half.

It was the 33-year-old's first competitive goal since September 2024.

Unfortunately, it was not the precursor to three points, with Djibril Soumare putting through his own net 15 minutes later to secure a point for the lowly Canaries.

On Ings' fillip, Wilder added: "He shouldn't need any help from a psychological point of view, but there's always confidence.

"He kept getting into those areas and at half-time, when he was a little bit down, I said: 'Dan, you've been here before. You don't have the career that you've had and have the moves and play for the clubs that you've played and (not) score the goals. You've got to look forward to that next opportunity.'

"It was a great bit of play by Chong and fabulous for Dan to score in front of the Kop."