Former Liverpool youngster Rhian Brewster scored for the first time in over two years on Wednesday as he netted a crucial winning goal for Sheffield United against Millwall in the Championship.
Brewster joined the Blades from Liverpool for a big-money fee in 2020 - believed to be £23.5 million ($30 million) but has been hampered by hamstring problems over the last four years that have restricted him to 93 appearances for the club, in which he has scored just six goals.
The fifth and sixth goals were separated by 26 months as Brewster drew 32 blanks in succession between a goal against Stoke in October 2022 and the winner against Millwall. When Brewster's sixth goal for Sheffield United did arrive, it could barely have been a simpler finish, as he tapped into an empty net from Gustavo Hamer's pass across goal.
Still, they all count, and the strike ensured Chris Wilder's side ended this week's round of Championship fixtures at the top of the table, one point clear of Leeds in second and four points clear of Burnley in third.
Brewster, now 24, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, going under the knife twice when he was a teenager at Liverpool, before suffering two serious, season-ending hamstring injuries with his current club, in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
In an interview with The i Paper earlier this season, Brewster spoke about the work he had put in to try and come back stronger. He said: “I hope that I deserve a bit of luck. I’ve had my fair share of bad times. I have done everything to make that luck: training right, eating right, recovering right, sleeping right. I’m going to do whatever I possibly can to not get injured.
“I feel older than 24, trust me. I’ve been through stuff that most 24-year-olds probably wouldn’t go through, and everything is in the public eye. But it is what it is and this is the life that I chose.
“The best feeling in the world is when I’m playing and I’m running, full speed, and I don’t think about it for a second. I’m just running. Trust me, I still have that. Ultimately, that’s all I want and all I’ve ever wanted. Fingers crossed I’ve still got years of that to come.”