Chris Basham breaks silence on his Sheffield United future as rehabilitation continues from horror injury

Chris Basham remains convinced that he will fully recover from the horror injury he suffered earlier this season after the Sheffield United legend discussed his future for the first time since the incident. The United captain spent lengthy time in hospital after being stretchered off at Craven Cottage back in early October.

He has since been released to return back to his home in the north east, and has updated fans on his condition via his Instagram account - which has seen him receive hundreds of supportive messages as he begins the long road to recovery. At 35, and out of contract next summer, the injury prompted speculation in some quarters about Basham's future but Paul Heckingbottom, United's manager at the time, insisted that no-one was thinking in such terms about one of the most popular players in United's recent history.

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Speaking to the United matchday programme for the Boxing Day clash at home to Luton Town, Basham opened up about the injury for the first time. “The club put me in contact with a physio and I’m currently doing three sessions a week," he told UTB. "I still can’t put any weight through my foot, so that’s the next goal.

"I’m in a protective boot during each session, but I’m getting on the bike and doing a few more things that are bringing normality back a bit and I’m starting to see a bit of light at the end of what remains a long tunnel.

"Thank you for your continued and unwavering support; it has been amazing. If there has been a time - and there have been a few - when I have felt down and low, I’ve looked through my messages to my update posts and seen the reactions and the feelings towards me. And it gives me a massive lift.”

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Fulham skipper Tim Ream earned widespread respect and praise for staying with Basham on the Craven Cottage pitch after the sickening injury, which occurred as he fell after a cross, and Basham has spoken to the USA international defender in the months since that afternoon. "I couldn’t have been more grateful though for how everyone reacted," Basham added.

"Our staff more than anyone and obviously Tim Ream was the first player that came over to me. The response of the crowd and everyone at Fulham was astounding and showed how much they genuinely cared. I’ve been in touch with Tim since the incident too. It was a sad affair, but I have to think about the future now, not the past. I have to believe I’ll fully recover from this and see where it takes us.”

Read the full interview with Basham in the Boxing Day programme v Luton, on sale around the ground on the day or available to pre-order now.