Sheffield United striker Patrick Bamford had to be replaced at halftime during their 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, but Chris Wilder provided an optimistic update for Blades supporters.

The first Saturday in March was a disappointing one for Blades fans. They only managed a 1-1 draw at home against struggling West Bromwich Albion, casting further doubt on their ability to launch a late bid for a Championship play-off spot at the end of the season.

At Bramall Lane, the game was scoreless at halftime when Bamford left the field limping and did not return for the second half. West Brom’s George Campbell scored an own goal eight minutes into the second half to give the Blades the lead, but Campbell made amends by bringing Albion level seven minutes later.

However, Sheffield United fans who were anxious that Bamford would not return for the second half of the encounter received a message from Blades boss Chris Wilder after the game, and the news isn’t as bad as they had feared.

Chris Wilder revealed that Patrick Bamford’s injury is not significant.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder spoke after the game about Patrick Bamford’s half-time departure, and the news was not as awful as Blades fans had feared.

According to the Sheffield Star, Wilder was asked by BBC Sheffield if Bamford’s injury was significant. He responded, “No, I don’t think so; it’s just a dead leg”.His departure was certainly not good because he has been fantastic for us.”

The result put Wilder’s squad in 11th place in the table, eight points behind sixth-placed Wrexham despite having played one extra game.

Dropping two points in this game was definitely detrimental to the Blades’ chances of making a late run up the division into the play-off positions as the season came to a close.

Their next match comes at home against Norwich City on Wednesday night, with the possibility to close the gap becoming more slim.

Speaking on his team’s failure to win all three points against West Brom, Wilder said: “We didn’t find that quality at the top of the pitch. It’s high-level Championship football.”

Patrick Bamford’s injury record makes speculation that he may pick up a knock inevitable.

It just takes a quick look at Patrick Bamford’s injury history to see why there will be anxiety at Bramall Lane after the striker failed to emerge in the second half against West Bromwich Albion.

The former Middlesbrough and Leeds player has experienced a string of problems over the last five seasons that have severely limited his availability.

Despite his injury issues, he remains a formidable force up forward, and Sheffield United have benefited from this since joining the club on a short-term contract in mid-November. He was voted EFL Championship Player of the Month for December following a strong start to his new club, scoring four goals in six games.

And, while he hasn’t been able to repeat his impressive start, Bamford has continued to score goals for Sheffield United.

He has eight goals in 19 league appearances for the Blades this season, putting him the club’s second-highest league goalscorer behind Callum O’Hare, despite the fact that O’Hare has nearly twice as many league appearances as Bamford.

Despite previous injury difficulties, Patrick Bamford has performed admirably in the Championship for Sheffield United this season. The Blades’ terrible start to the season made even chasing a play-off spot difficult by the time Chris Wilder returned to the club after being fired at the end of last season and replaced by Ruben Selles.

But there is still hope, and Bamford’s goalscoring is one of their best chances to salvage a season that began far worse than any Blades fan could have predicted when their team fell to the bottom of the standings in August under Selles.

Sheffield United fans will be happy that the latest injury is not serious.