John Egan setback part of Sheffield United's injury crisis

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom says the latest crop of injuries have set his side "back to square one".

Centre-half John Egan missed the Republic of Ireland's European Championship qualifiers against Greece and Gibraltar with a leg injury picked up against Fulham before the international window and has undergone surgery.

Fellow defender Chris Basham also suffered a serious injury in the defeat to the Cottagers before the international break, while Tom Davis sustained a long-term injury in training.

It leaves them short on numbers going into Saturday night's home game with Manchester United.

"It's a nightmare. Because we were behind in terms of squad numbers when we started the season, I felt we were just getting to the point where we had made the signings by the end of the window and we were getting there," Heckingbottom said.

"The last international break we had three injuries and now we have had these three. It's sort of put us back to square one a little bit. If we are honest it's far from ideal, but we have been here before. It is an opportunity for others and we have to use that.

"What is hurting us is the length of the injuries. We have still got people out from last season and now there are these injuries, that's what's hurting us.

"But there is nothing we can do about that until January. We can't lose any focus, it's all about getting through these next few months until January when we can do something about it.

"The blow for us is how long certain people have been out.

"It is across the board and I am frustrated by it. You ask questions and point the finger because we can't accept it being across the board because there are clubs who are better off, so imagine the advantage they have got over us."

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