Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that Billy Sharp will be fit enough to feature for the club at the start of the 2022/23 season.
The forward was a notable absentee from the Blades' match-day squad during the closing stages of the previous campaign.
Sharp sustained a hamstring injury during a clash with Barnsley in March.
Despite making a brief comeback in the club's victory over Cardiff City at the end of April, the forward suffered another injury setback as he picked up an issue with his calf.
As a result of this problem, Sharp was forced to watch on from the sidelines for the next four games.
Although the Blades did manage to qualify for the play-offs without their talisman, they went on to suffer a defeat in the semi-finals of this competition to Nottingham Forest.
Determined to launch another push for promotion later this year, United will get their campaign underway with a clash with Watford on August 1st.
Ahead of the upcoming campaign, Heckingbottom has shared an injury update on Sharp.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, the Blades boss said: "With Sharpy, we tried to rush and give him every opportunity to be fit if we got to the play-off final, even to the extent of having the blood infusion.
"It was a calculated risk which didn't work so it slowed it down.
"But we expect him to be fit for the start of the season."
The Verdict
This is a positive update for the Blades as Sharp demonstrated last season that he is still a key player for the Blades as he set the Championship alight at times with his attacking displays.
The forward managed to find the back of the net on 14 occasions at this level as he recorded a respectable average WhoScored match rating of 6.74 in the second-tier.
Whereas the Blades will need the likes of Iliman Ndiaye, Rhian Brewster and Daniel Jebbison to provide some support in terms of scoring goals next season, Sharp is likely to lead the line in the majority of their fixtures.
Providing that he is able to avoid injury in the upcoming campaign, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the 36-year-old goes on to spearhead a push for promotion.