Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom insists he isn't going to take any risk with Rhian Brewster despite the striker situation at the club.

With several departures from the squad last season, and Billy Sharp not fit enough to start, youngster Daniel Jebbison started up top in the 1-0 defeat at Watford on Monday, with Brewster coming off the bench for the final 23 minutes.

The former Liverpool man had featured, and scored, regularly in pre-season, so there were some questions as to why he couldn't play for longer at Vicarage Road.

However, in an update shared to the Sheffield Star, Heckingbottom explained why there needs to be a patience with Brewster, who suffered a serious hamstring injury in January.

"He’s not at the level he wants to be at or I want him to be at but he’s scoring goals so he’ll certainly be used. We’re going to be patient with him and the fans will have to be patient with him.

"It’s about having an impact while you’re on the pitch. If that’s 45 minutes of him at his best, then that’s perfect until he gets to 90 minutes at his best."

The verdict

Clearly, Brewster is not yet at 100%, so whilst that's slightly concerning, the fact he's still training and able to play some part is obviously a positive.

With that in mind, Heckingbottom's stance is completely right. There's no point taking any risks at this stage of the season and it's about letting Brewster get up to speed in his own time.

So, it will be interesting to see what part he plays against Millwall this weekend but you would still expect him to have a major impact on the Blades' season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.