Republic of Ireland and Sheffield United defender John Egan ran through the daily routine of a Premier League player during the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday's Off The Ball.
Sitting five points shy of the Premier League's top-four with one game in-hand on the surrounding clubs, John Egan is adamant that Sheffield United are ready to challenge for a place in next year's Champions League.
Less than two weeks away from the resumption of top-flight football in England, Egan, who has been keeping on top of his fitness work since clubs stopped meeting collectively back in March, ran through what life is currently like as a footballer in the Premier League.
Watford's Troy Deeney (left) and Sheffield United's John Egan in action"We were given programmes to do at home and sometimes you'd have two or three sessions a day," he explained to Off The Ball how what life was like for a professional footballer during lockdown, "especially for the first 10 to 12 weeks.
"But we've been in the training ground now for the last two or three weeks and we've literally just been training."
Things have not been exactly as they always were, however.
"It has changed a lot," he admitted. "Beforehand, you used to go in and get changed in the dressing-room, have your breakfast all in together. Now, there's a set half-hour window where you arrive and you get your temperature checked on arrival.
"We're also getting tested twice a week, so I've had about five tests so far I think and that testing is pretty hectic too. It's not pleasant.
"It is straightforward and they're only taking a couple of swabs, but they go really far up your nose and really far down your throat, so it is not pleasant but yeah, it is only a few minutes and it is great that it is set up."
On the training pitch, things have gotten back to normal now, more or less.
"At the start we were only training in 3s or 4s because you weren't allowed to do group-training in Phase 1," he recalled of their initial time back, "but when Phase 2 started we could train as a group again and that's been the case for the last week or so.
"After training, you're straight into the car and off home. You're showering at home and washing your kit and stuff there."
You can watch back John Egan's conversation with Off The Ball in its entirety here.
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