Sheffield United key man provides update after undergoing operation on significant injury

John Egan has revealed he is "feeling good" about his rehabilitation process after undergoing surgery on his significant injury. The Blades skipper limped off after landing awkwardly away at West Ham early in September and was seen leaving the London Stadium in a protective moonboot.

Although boss Paul Heckingbottom is notoriously coy about injury absences and exact issues, the problem is serious enough to keep the Republic of Ireland international out until into the new year - joining teammates Chris Basham and Tom Davies in the treatment room with long-term injuries. Egan went under the knife about six weeks ago and sat down with United's in-house SUTV channel for an update on his rehab.

"I'm feeling good," Egan said. "Obviously at the start it was a tough one to take, knowing you’ve done a significant injury. But I've had the operation now so hopefully I can get the boot off soon and and start cracking on. I'm kind of used to it [the boot] now but it will be a big relief, to start getting back walking normally again and progressing in the gym. Hopefully in the new year I can start cracking on."

For the first fortnight after the operation Egan was restricted to sitting at home "with my feet up" but the protective boot has enabled him to return to United's Shirecliffe training base and work with physios. The defender has also had a range of fitness equipment installed at home, aimed at getting him back up to speed as soon as possible.

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"It's good to be around the training ground, even when you are injured," Egan added. "You miss it when you’re off and it’s good to be around the lads. Time is flying, to be honest; people always say time goes long when you’re injured but time flies if you have the right mentality and I'm just trying to improve on it every day.

"With my situation, it's not a matter of weeks when you’re going to be back playing. So you can kind of accept it earlier on, get your head around it and then look forward to coming back in to do the rehab."