Republic of Ireland international John Egan is fully focused on a return to fitness and ensuring he’s ready for the start of the new season, with whatever club he may end up with.
Egan’s contract with Sheffield United is reported to expire at the end of the month and while he was not included on the club’s released players list, his future remains uncertain.
Representatives of the 31-year-old are currently in talks with the recently-relegated club over a deal to extend Egan’s six-year stay with the club, but for now the player is concentrating on getting back to fitness after an injury that sidelined him for most of last season.
Egan suffered a serious Achilles injury while playing for United last September and the road back to action has been a long one.
However, he recently posted an image of himself in action at Sheffield United’s training ground and with speculation linking him with two unnamed Premier League clubs, Egan is solely concentrating on being ready for the new season – wherever that may be.
“Where I stand, I suppose, is making sure I’m fully fit for pre-season,” he said.
“Talks are going on in the background, they are above my head. For the last few months I’ve just been gearing myself towards getting fully fit for pre-season.
“I’m in a great place now and I’m doing a lot of work with Sheffield, the staff, and doing a lot of good training. That’s been at the forefront of my mind, getting back fully fit.
“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. Talks will be going on in the background and when the time comes, when there is an offer or a decision to be made, everything gets weighed up.
“My main goal now is to keep going with my training and keep working really hard and when the time comes where a decision has to be made, a decision will be made.”
Egan admits that it’s been a long journey back from the brink of what could have been a career-ending injury.
The defender believes that the mental toughness he’s gained throughout his career has played a role in his recovery and as he gets closer to full fitness again, he’s able to appreciate just how much he has already achieved in the game.
“I got this injury and had to get an operation in October, so I knew the road ahead of me because I’d been down on it before,” he said. “That probably helped me in my recovery and mentally.
“There’s a lot of things you have to do really, but one of the biggest things is being patient and trusting the process and giving your body enough time to tick every box along the way.
“In sports mental health is probably bigger than everybody thinks it is. I would probably say over 50% of your life is your mentality, especially in sports – how you deal with setbacks, how you deal with success, how you deal with everything
“You go over to England at a young age and you’re growing up and you’re trying to do things and you get setbacks along the way. You have to learn how to deal with them and I think it makes you mentally stronger.
“In the past six years, I’ve been at Sheffield United, we’ve had two promotions. three years in the Premier League and been through relegation.
“You’re dealing with all different types of feelings. But you have to believe in yourself and have a goal and a reason to get up every morning and go out and try and achieve it.”