‘I got to know him quite early on because I was his taxi driver!’ – John Egan on a nightmare season and Sam Curtis joining Blades

After two seasons out of the top flight, Egan’s Sheffield United clinched promotion back to the big time a little over a year ago and hopes were high when their big return arrived last August.

But just seven games into the campaign, the Ireland centre-half suffered an Achilles injury that ruled him out of the rest of the campaign, as well as the last four international windows.

And having sat rock-bottom since December 2, the Blades’ relegation was confirmed in April after picking up just three wins across a dismal season.

After spending the bulk of the past nine months in the recovery room, the Corkman is back fit and preparing for the upcoming pre-season schedule. Although he is out of contract this month amid Premier League interest, he reflected on a nightmare season, personally and for his club.

​“Very hard [to see the club relegated], especially when you’re not able to play and help the team. You feel a bit guilty. It was a very tough experience missing most of the season,” said Egan, speaking on behalf of Pringles.

“I’ve played nearly every game since I signed for the club [in 2018]. Then to get an injury early in the season is very hard to take, but you have to accept it. That’s football.

“When I was 20, I broke my leg, so I was out for roughly a year with that one. I think that experience definitely stood to me this time. The hardest thing after you have an operation and face a long time on the sidelines is being patient. You just have to trust the process. Even if there was a cup final or anything, the rehab time is the rehab time and you have to respect that. You have to let the body heal. I’m back ready to go now.”

Sheffield United are in talks to keep Egan at Bramall Lane as he’s set to become a free agent this summer, and despite interest from Premier League sides, the 31-year-old insists he’ll weigh up his future when the time is right.

“Those talks are going on in the background, they are above my head,” said 36-cap Egan.

“Most of these things are out of my hands. As a player, all I can do is focus on getting my body up to speed. When the time comes, when there is an offer or a decision to be made, everything gets weighed up. When the time comes when a decision has to be made, a decision will be made. Ideally, I would like to have something sorted soon, but as a player, all I can do now is make sure I recover from this injury 100pc.”

One new Irish face at Bramall Lane this season has been 18-year-old Sam Curtis, who signed from St Patrick’s Athletic in January before earning his top-flight debut last month.

“He’s settled in really well,” said Egan of the Ireland U-21 right-back. “I got to know him quite early on because I was his taxi driver for the first couple of months! But he’s a great lad with an unbelievable attitude.

“He’s played a lot of first-team games in Ireland, which you can see [60 games for St Pat’s]. He has come over and not been shy, got stuck in straight away and became part of the dressing room fairly quickly. He’s another player with a big future.

“He has got a really good attitude to be the best player he can be. Sam has come in, and not only has he worked hard, but he has kept asking questions. I see him out after training doing extras a lot. That’s probably the main thing that sticks out about him. He’s not afraid to put in the hard yards and that’s probably 90pc of the battle.”