Evans exit placed on hold after injury setback

The Welsh international, who cost £3m from Manchester City two years ago, was stretchered off during the final stages of Saturday’s home game against Barnsley with damaged ankle ligaments.

Although the Blades are adamant that he will be back for the start of pre-season, it is unlikely that any club will splash out on his services prior to his return.

Chief executive Trevor Birch has already made it clear that the Blades will need to off-load players this summer to stay in control of their finances.

The club has one of the highest wage bills outside of the Premier League, in the region of £12m, and will suffer a losses in income and TV revenues next season.

Evans, 22, is one of the highest paid players on the books at Bramall Lane but has scored only 13 goals in 71 appearances over the last two seasons.

He had also missed five games with a knee injury prior to last weekend’s fixture but was thrown back into the fray as a substitute by manager Micky Adams in a bid to avoid the drop.

Just minutes before the final whistle, Evans suffered a fresh injury in a collision with Barnsley’s defender Jason Shackell.

Manager Adams said: “You don’t want to see any player getting injured in a season and certainly not at this late stage. He had declared himself fit and wanted to be part of trying to rescue the club.”

Commenting on the extent of the injury, Adams said: “It’s not as bad as first thought and, although there is ankle ligament damage, he will be ready to start pre-season on time.”

Both Norwich City and Nottingham Forest have been keeping an eye on Evans who still has over 12 months remaining on his contract with the Blades. He may be allowed to leave on a free transfer if that helps hasten his departure.

Adams, meanwhile, has hailed the progress of Blades defender Matthew Lowton – who finished the season as a first-team regular – despite struggling for three years to make an impact at the club.

“I was a little bit worried that he was not big enough to be a centre-back and not quick enough to be a full-back,” said Adams. “But I think he has answered those critics. He has certainly improved in the time I have been here. He has still got a bit to do when defending one v one but he has showed enough quality to say there is a player there.”

Lowton, now 21, joined the Blades after being released by Leeds United as a teenager, and was loaned out to non-league Sheffield FC and Hungarian club Ferencvaros.