Along with the rest of the country, the Sheffield United squad are currently on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Premier League has been indefinitely suspended since March 13 and it is unclear when the competition might return.
Blades players are currently at home trying to maintain their fitness so they can be as prepared as possible for when it does restart.
However, aside from their physical fitness, the effect that lockdown has on their mental health is also a concern. This is something that captain Billy Sharp is very conscious of.
Sharp – or more specifically, his son Leo – has become a hit on social media in recent times recreating famous goals in the back garden. Yet the 34-year-old is aware that, for others, life in quarantine can be a lonely experience.
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As skipper, Sharp is staying in regular contact with the rest of his teammates to check on how they are coping during the outbreak.
The Sheffield United players Sharp is most concerned about during lockdown
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“From a captain’s point-of-view, I’ve checked in with the lads. Most of them have got smiles on their faces, but it is tough mentally,” Sharp told BT Sport.
“I feel for the foreign lads who have come into the club. They’ve played a month’s worth of football, they’re just getting to know the lads, they don’t know the city, they’ve just got into a new property and they can’t go out of the house. They’ve got no family with them.
“They’re the ones who are on their own and they’re the ones I’ve checked in with. But they all seem to be doing really well.”
Sharp appears to be referring to those players who arrived at Bramall Lane and in England during the January transfer window. That includes club record signing Sander Berge, who has previously spoken about life in quarantine.
Then there is loan duo Panos Retsos and Richairo Zivkovic. They were signed from Bayer Leverkusen and Changchun Yatai respectively in January and in the case of Zivkovic, he hasn’t even played for the club yet.
