Matt Doherty is edging closer towards first-team action at Sheffield United, although the defender and a number of other returning players still have work to do before they can be considered ready for a full 90 minutes. The 34-year-old has endured a stop-start Blades career so far.

He has played just five times since arriving in the summer, with his last appearance coming in United’s 1-0 League Cup exit at the hands of Fleetwood Town back in September.

Questions about his availability have come to the fore in the wake of Femi Seriki’s season-ending injury at Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which came just minutes after he replaced Hamza Choudhury at half-time.

Choudhury has been holding the fort at right-back during the injury absences of Seriki and Doherty this season and, while he has done a decent job, having a specialist available would give boss Chris Wilder another natural option in the position.

Doherty recently suffered what Wilder described as a “flare-up” in his knee and received an injection. Speaking at The Valley, the United boss didn’t really elaborate on the Republic of Ireland international’s return timescale, beyond saying: “Doc will be better for working through the international break.”

But speaking before the Charlton game, Wilder said of the right-back: "He's in a group of a few as well. He's working his way back, and I'm glad to have him back with us.

“It’s a return to training and then a return to playing. So it’s about getting them out on the grass, working with the conditioners, returning to training, returning to playing, and then returning to full 90-minute action. And that's the challenge.”

It’s one also made more difficult by the new set-up with U21 football, which limits United to three over-age players in a league in which they often dominate opposition. Previously players returning from injury would get some valuable minutes in the reserves.

“Every training session is good, and they top up afterwards,” added Wilder of his injured cohort. “They work, and they come in on their days off as well. So they're working.

“They're doing stuff after training, after the first team or the group that's trained has gone in. They understand that they're not in the same situation as the players that have been playing regular first-team football, so they have to work hard.”