Oliver Arblaster returned to the pitch on Saturday against Norwich after a difficult time with injuries, resulting in 394 days away from the pitch. The midfielder will want to return to a consistent first-team starting role.
Injury Setback
It was a derby-day disaster on 10 November 2024, despite the Blades beating rivals Sheffield Wednesday 1-0. Arblaster would suffer an anterior cruciate ligament injury, leaving him sidelined for a lengthy period of time. Manager Chris Wilder said, “This is a test for him as a young player. For it to happen at this part of his career, he has to get over it and get on with it.”
Arblaster underwent surgery on his ruptured ACL in late November 2024. He released a statement on Instagram saying he believes everything happens for a reason, and this is just a setback. He also said that this is his start to recovery. Arblaster suffered an injury setback during the summer, with the manager at the time, Ruben Selles, stating, “There has been some setback some weeks ago where it has delayed his moment to join the team at least for another month-and-a-half, two months.” So it seemed the young midfielder still had a long road to recovery.
The young Englishmen had faced injury before; however, not one to this extent. During his final game for Port Vale, while on loan for half a season, he suffered a nasty gash to the knee. This happened due to a challenge from his own teammate. Arblaster’s Carabao Cup quarter-final was cut short with the midfielder being stretched off just before the hour mark. Arblaster stated via Instagram, “It wasn’t the end I’d hoped for.
Loan at Port Vale
During his time at Vale, he was also called up to the England youth squad. He and Vale team-mate Alfie Devine, who was on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. They were both featuring in the England U20; this seems to be a crucial part of his career, getting regular game time at club level for the Vale. As well as getting involved in the England setup, I hope one day he will earn a call-up to the senior team. Will we be seeing him in an England shirt in a few years?
Return to United
However, he returned to the Premier League with Sheffield United and became crucial in their attempt to survive the drop. He even went on to captain his boyhood club at Old Trafford against the Red Devils. Arblaster featured 12 times in the Premier League for the Blades. Unfortunately, Sheffield United could not stay up, relegating them to the Championship for the 24/25 season. A strong start for Arblaster saw him score his first goal for his boyhood Blades. A shot from outside the box deflected into the back of the net, saw Sheffield take the lead against Preston North End.
Arblaster will be hoping to get back to goal-scoring ways for his beloved Blades, with him now being fit and already starting against Norwich. He did make the bench in the previous game, in which Sheffield thumped Stoke City with a commanding 4-0 victory, but Arblaster did not feature off the bench.
Oli Arblaster is likely to be a key part of Sheffield United’s season. He will be trying to steer them back towards the top of the table after their poor start to the season. At the time of writing, Sheffield United sit in 17th, 21 points off leaders Coventry City. With a disappointing end last season, the Blades will surely be aiming to finish in the playoffs once again.
