Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says he does expect John Fleck to be fit when they face Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Scottish international was missing from the side that drew 0-0 against Aston Villa yesterday evening and after the match, Wilder explained the midfielder picked up an injury when going in for a tackle in the 4-0 friendly win versus Hull last week.

“Flecky goes in for a challenge at Hull City in the last minute and I am looking at him thinking you can’t do that, but he trains and plays in that way and that’s taken him through his period at Sheffield United.”

Centre-back Jack O’Connell also was absent for the trip to Villa Park after injuring himself in training when colliding with keeper Dean Henderson.

The 26-year-old is said to be touch and go for the weekend, and Wilder is likely to make a late decision on whether to include the defender.

In O’Connell’s place, Jack Robinson did a more than adequate job on his Premier League debut for the Blades, helping to keep a clean sheet as the Yorkshire club moved up above Wolves to sixth in the table.