Sheffield United's Rhys Norrington-Davies may have to find match sharpness in Premier League as injuries continue to mount

The Wales defender played the first half of Sheffield United Under-23s' 1-1 draw with Hull City on Tuesday – a first outing since injuring his hamstring in October 2022 – but Wilder admitted he may not have the luxury of getting the 24-year-old fully up to speed in junior and behind-closed-door football.

With the seven players listed by PremierInjuries.com as injured for Friday's trip to Aston Villa not including a couple of recurrences Wilder was unprepared to divulge, his squad is seriously stretched.

"We'll try and get him some more minutes in a game but he's at top speed, it's just match practice he's short of and he might have to get it in the first team," warned Wilder.

"An awful lot of credit must go to the medical department and the boy because it was a pretty serious injury and one where there was real concern for Rhys' future."

Norrington-Davies, a wing-back who also filled in at centre-back last season, missed Sheffield United's promotion from the Championship last season and the World Cup.

The Blades’ bad luck extended to midfielder Oliver Arblaster, who is out on loan but an option to recall in January. Cameron Archer is available on Friday after joining permanently from Villa with a buyback clause – effectively a "loan plus".

"A couple of recurring injuries have resurfaced," said Wilder. "That's disappointing because we need everybody available.

"We can't risk players coming back and reinjuring themselves.

"We'll look at it from a tactical point of view and see the best way of trying to get a result at Villa Park and from a personnel point of view slot players into that formation."

Arblaster was in the Port Vale team beaten as Middlesbrough reached the League Cup semi-finals.

"It looked serious,” said Wilder, who was at Vale Park. "It was an innocuous collision and one of his own players has come through and caught Oli on the knee. It was stitches, so superficial, but still not ideal.

"The reaction of all the players and the referee was one of a serious injury but I've talked to the boy."