Injury boost for Sheffield United with key man in training

Sheffield United fans will breathe a sigh of relief after it was revealed that John Egan’s injury which saw him come off early in Saturday’s draw with Everton, doesn;t appear to be serious.

Egan was replaced by Chris Basham in the 68th minute of the weekend 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane and although he met up with the Republic of Ireland squad ahead of their crunch double-heade with France and Holland, the Blades skipper was immediately sent for a scan to check on the knocks on his knee and ankle which prompted that substitution.

Andrew Omobamidele was drafted into the squad following his recent move from Norwich City to Nottingham Forest, in case Egan was forced to pull out.

Irish boss Stephen Kenny had already been dealt a blow with the news that the Premier League’s weekend hero Evan Ferguson, who scored a hat-trick against Newcastle United in Brighton’s battering of the Magpies, had been forced to return to his club after picking up a knee injury.

The Republic of Ireland squad trained on Tuesday morning before making the trip to Paris for Thursday night’s European Championships qualifier and among those on the pitch was Egan, quashing United fears that he may not be fit to face Tottenham when domestic football returns following the international break.

Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom had said following Saturday’s match: “Egs was knee and ankle but he didn’t feel his knee in the second half, he would have carried on but I could see it was affecting him and it was my call really.”

He added: “We can’t stop them from going away. If Ireland want to see and assess him then they will. If he’s not fit, he doesn’t play and if he is, then he’ll play.”

Egan is expected to captain his country againt the world champions should he be declared fully fit to play