'Devastated' Sheffield United defender Chris Basham's early start on road to recovery after broken ankle

The centre-back suffered the freak injury in Saturday's 3-1 defeat at Fulham, crumpling in a heap after putting in a cross from the right.

It took almost 15 minutes to remove the experienced defender from the pitch wearing an oxygen mask, so delicate an operation it was.

Often injuries need a couple of days for swelling to go down before they can even be assessed properly, but Basham went under the knife on Sunday for an initial operation, with another due later this week.

A "devastated" Basham posted on Instagram: "“Had my first operation to clean things up and will have a second this week to make things right… would like to thank the football world for their support in messages and social media posts; all my close friends and family; to Sheffield United for taking care of me and @fulhamfc for their support in the process; @timream5 for being there and putting football aside."

Fulham defender Tim Ream was widely praised for his reaction to the incident, the first person over to Basham to check on him before the physios could make it onto the field.

The injury comes at a bad time for 35-year-old Basham and his club.

The right-sided centre-back has been made vice-captain this season and has appeared in all nine of their matches this season, starting three in the Premier League.

A veteran of the club’s last two Premier League seasons, Basham is regarded as one of the most important leaders in the dressing room.

With John Egan "out for a while" – that classes as a fairly specific timescale with the cagey Paul Heckingbottom – Basham was needed to fill in on the right of a back three at the weekend so Anel Ahmedhodzic could come across to the centre.

It is too early to know how long Basham will be missing for but it was clearly a serious injury.

The Blades are bottom of the Premier League, one of only two teams along with Bournemouth yet to win a match. They have just one point and are in desperate need of a fillip when they return from the international break.