Why Premier League loanee is still out of the picture
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Newcastle United loanee, Ciaran Clark, is predicted to be back in around a month. The experienced centre-back started the first two Championship games of the season, and the Carabao cup tie against West Brom, before ultimately suffering a hamstring injury in training.
The 32-year-old made his Blades competitive debut against Watford away, in the first game of the season. Clark was forced to play on the right-hand side of the back three, due to injuries and the suspension of Ahmedhodzic.
He had a tricky start to his Blades career playing out of position and playing against, at the time, the most frightening and dynamic forward line in the league. Though in the second game of the season, the fans got to see the quality and experience Clark possesses at this level, when he played on the left-hand side.
Sheffield United’s assistant manager, Stuart McCall, recently explained to the media why Ciaran Clark is still on the sidelines:
“He had a setback in training a couple of weeks ago, a muscle injury, and last week he was at the 4 to 5-week mark. He was almost back and unfortunately he overstretched and it went again. It’s frustrating for him, frustrating for everyone.” [Yorkshire Live]
The Irishman has had plenty of injury problems throughout his career, and that was the thing that many United fans pointed out when signing the experienced defender. Clark was working hard to come back fit but suffered a setback in training that means he is still not expected to return until October.