Jack Robinson, just a few days into his Sheffield United career, may not have yet heard what has become one of Chris Wilder’s stock phrases in the Premier League. But if any player encompasses the United manager’s message about the importance of “the work that goes on away from the lights”, then it is surely the 26-year-old signed from Nottingham Forest.



Tipped for the very top when becoming Liverpool’s youngest debutant a decade ago, Robinson later contemplated quitting the game after suffering a debilitating knee injury. He spent two years struggling to walk, never mind play again, and suffered what the left-sided defender, by then at Queens Park Rangers, has since described as a “deep depression”.



Long, lonely days were spent on the couch in his Surrey flat, with such lack of trust in his damaged knee that even a stroll to the shops was deemed a risk not worth taking in case the joint swelled up again.



Retirement...