Rhian Brewster was reportedly close to tears as he pulled up with another hamstring problem during Sheffield United's 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.
The former Liverpool man missed the second-half of last season with a hamstring injury picked up in February, with surgery keeping the striker out for the remainder of the 2021/2022 campaign. He has has been a near-everpresent part of the Blades' early-season promotion push, featuring in 13 of their 17 league games and looking back to his best.
Brewster was brought on by manager Paul Heckingbottom in the 65th-minute with his side two up and dominating, but just 11 minutes later, the 22-year-old pulled up while holding his hamstring before leaving the field clearly devastated.
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Asked after the final whistle whether it was another hamstring problem, Blades boss Heckingbottom said: "Yeah .
"It's the Nature of the game and some players are prone to it. If you look across the game now a lot more players who are physical and powerful are picking up more serious injuries
"I looked at data in 2010 for the sprints that players do and it's doubled. We maybe have to look at protecting those players more."
Today's injury is just the latest setback for the young forward, who has endured a difficult spell since leaving Liverpool for £23.5million in 2020. He failed to score a single goal in 27 Premier League appearances as the Blades were relegated, taking until November the following season to bag his first goal for the club.
But at the end of that month, the ex-Reds man picked up an ankle injury that kept him out for six weeks. He returned to play in January of this year, but again lasted less than a month before the hamstring injury that required surgery.
The extent of this latest setback is not yet known and is likely to become clearer over the coming days.
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