...but pair face lengthy spells on the sidelins
United head for Plymouth Argyle in the Area Quarter-Final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy on Tuesday night (7pm)
Having beaten local rivals Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town in the previous rounds Manager Chris Wilder is determined not to let that hard work go to waste at Home Park.
“We need to focus and not waste the fantastic night against Swindon and a decent performance away at Cheltenham” he told Yellow Player. “We need to recognise how close we are to a Wembley appearance, and hopefully by the end of Tuesday night we will be a little bit closer.”
United will be without both Jon-Paul Pittman and Andy Whing, who will undergo scans after picking up injuries in the draw at Accrington on Saturday. Pittman dislocated a shoulder, while Whing was also stretchered off after jarring his knee.
“Both of them are going for scans today and we will get reviews through specialists so we will know probably late tomorrow afternoon” a frustrated Chris told us. “The best case scenario for JP is four weeks out, the worst case is a possible operation and four months. For Whingy the best case is six weeks and the worst case is an operation and end of the season.
“I am disappointed for them, and disappointed not to be able to pick two decent players. They had worked very hard to get back into the team at different stages. JP was looking very strong, scored a couple of goals, and it’s a blow to be without him.
“Whingy is a strong character and a tough guy, so when he sticks his arm up in the air and calls for a stretcher you know he has a big problem. He was getting better by the week and will now be out for a period of time.”
See the full interview in Yellow Player right now.