'I felt gutted about what happened,' Sheffield United boss says about previous Hull City encounter

The defender is expected to start Friday night’s home game against Hull City, five months after seriously damaging a hamstring during September’s victory at the MKM Stadium.

Having spent last term on loan with Nottingham Forest, who won promotion via the play-offs after beating United in the semi-finals, Lowe was producing his best form since leaving Derby County when disaster struck in East Yorkshire.

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But after welcoming the 25-year-old back into the first team fold and watching him claim a fourth assist of the campaign when Stoke City were beaten at Bramall Lane over the weekend, Heckingbottom said: “I felt so sorry for Max when what happened happened, because everyone could see how well he was performing at the time. So for him to do that, you couldn’t help but feel for the lad. I felt gutted for him, being honest.”

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Lowe missed 15 matches after pulling up as he raced back to seize possession midway through the first-half of a contest United went on to win 2-0 thanks to goals from Oli McBurnie and Sander Berge.

After briefly returning to action on Boxing Day, Lowe was then diagnosed with a side-strain but proved his fitness by completing the clash with Alex Neil’s team. United have lost only one of the 10 league fixtures Lowe has featured in since August and are preparing for their latest Championship assignment ranked second and 11 points ahead of third-placed Watford, who host Rotherham on Saturday.

“He’s worked hard,” Heckingbottom said, assessing Lowe’s performances. “He’s showing what he’s about.”

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