Sheffield United: Carl Asaba explains "brilliant" thinking behind seemingly contradictory friendly policy

Neighbours Rotherham, who beat United in the Championship earlier this month, are said to be among the teams officials at Bramall Lane have approached as preparations for December 10th’s game against Huddersfield Town begin in earnest.

With Heckingbottom admitting that the “explosive” nature of the modern game, combined with it’s “all year round” schedule for those who also compete at international level, might have contributed towards the fitness issues which have wreaked havoc with his selections of late, the decision to stage fixtures at the Randox Health Academy and elsewhere inevitable raised eyebrows among some supporters.

But Carl Asaba, who made 80 appearances for United before joining Stoke City 19 years ago, told The Star: “For United, taking part in these games should be so, so beneficial. I understand why people might be a bit confused, given everything that’s been mentioned, but what they’ll be doing is making sure the lads who have been injured are getting back up to speed. If, for example, Max Lowe can be involved in some of them then that’s going to be a huge boost for him and the group as a whole.”

Lowe, previously of Derby County, was among a dozen senior professionals who missed United’s visit to Cardiff City nearly a fortnight ago after damaging a hamstring during September’s win over Hull City. Like Sander Berge and Jayden Bogle, Lowe is understood to have entered the closing stages of his rehabilitation programme before George Baldock’s goal in the Welsh capital lifted United to second in the table.

“I get why it sounds contradictory, playing games when you say people need a rest,” Asaba continued. “But this is football. It’s strange. Everything is contradictory.

“If you’re coming back from a knock, you need to road test it. You need to take part in games because, no matter what you do in training, you can’t replicate what it’s like. And think about it this way: It’s better to be out there against first team players rather than reserves, who might start flying into challenges and really hurt you because they want to catch the manager’s eye and get into the team.”

After granting most of his players time off following their return from Cardiff - John Egan featured twice for the Republic of Ireland and Reda Khadra appeared for Germany under-21’s, while Iliman Ndiaye and Adam Davies have travelled to Qatar with Senegal and Wales respectively - Heckingbottom ordered them back to work en masse earlier this week.

“Psychologically, taking part in games like this are important as well, not just physically,” Asaba said. “When you take part in an actual match, you need to be able to trust your own body and know that your injury has healed. In training, let’s be honest, you can pull out of a challenge and your team mate, who knows what’s going on, won’t go in for it properly either. In games this these, you can road test yourself and become battle-hardened.”