Paul Coutts is challenged by Marvin Sordell

The Scot suffered the injury at Burton back in November, in a challenge with the Brewers’ Marvin Sordell.

Coutts was later told that the break was ‘clean’ and didn’t require surgery, but would still keep him out for the remainder of the Championship season.

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But the midfielder is progressing well on the road to recovery and, appearing on Alan Biggs’ Sheffield Live show, said: “I’m getting there now.

”I started running last week at the EIS on the anti-gravity treadmill, so it’s not full body weight but I’m getting there. I’ve unfortunately run out of time this season so I think it’ll be pre season before I’m back.

“I’m not sure how breaking your leg can be lucky but I was told I was lucky, as leg breaks go, because it was a clean break that didn’t need an operation, and the bone was only ten per cent unaligned.

“Everything so far has gone to plan, I’m slightly ahead of schedule and should be okay for pre-season.”

Coutts’ injury coincided with a dip in form for Chris Wilder’s men - they went top of the league after victory at Burton, but are now ninth with three games to go - but their injured star insists they have the quality, and the mindset, to win all their remaining matches and get in the Championship play-offs after winning the League One title last season.

And Coutts added: “It’s obviously a bad injury but quite a straightforward one, I injured my knee before and that was a really complicated one.

“But I’m comfortable in myself that I’ll be able to get back. I just think it was a lazy tackle, to be honest, I don’t think he meant to injure me.

“It was clumsy more than anything. But I didn’t hear from him, which surprised me to be fair. If I’d injured someone like that, whether I meant it or not, and put them out for uquite a while then I’d apologise, for sure. But it’s one of those things really and doesn’t really make any difference.

“To be fair Nigel [Clough, ex Blades and now Burton boss] phoned me on the Monday to apologise for the tackle, he was devastated to see me injured so that was a nice touch.