Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder will rest players against Blackburn in the Carabao Cup, with some nursing “bumps and bruises” following the defeat to Leicester.
Wilder will use the second-round tie to make changes as he looks to get minutes into the legs of players who have not featured much so far this season.
The 51-year-old hopes those with knocks will recover in time the the Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
“We’ve got a couple of bumps and bruises from the weekend, which will mean a few players miss Tuesday,” Wilder told the club website. “But there’s nothing long term, we’ve got no long-term injuries at all.
“We’ll make a decision, but the more than likely decision is that we will make changes and give the boys a chance to put in a performance.”
John Fleck missed the defeat against Leicester with the injury that saw him hobble off during the win over Crystal Palace on August 18 and Wilder has his fingers crossed the midfielder will be back in contention at Chelsea.
“He wasn’t close at all for Saturday, but we’ve got a full week now and hopefully he will be out on the grass pretty early. We are hopeful John will be ready for the weekend and, if he does make it, I expect we will have a full squad to choose from,” said the Blades boss.
Ravel Morrison is expected to make his full debut against Blackburn. The attacking midfielder, who moved to Bramall Lane in the summer, made his first appearance for the club as a late substitute against Leicester.
“It was good to get Ravel on to the pitch, even though it was difficult for him and we were chasing the game. He will definitely be involved on Tuesday night,” said Wilder.
Other likely starters include Phil Jagielka, Ben Osborn, Billy Sharp and club record signing Oli McBurnie, while Simon Moore is likely to come in for Dean Henderson in goal.
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
