Sign up for the big Everton stories from a fantastic season so far Get the newsletter Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

This time last year Michael Keane was playing football wearing a right boot two sizes too big for him, taking a cocktail of pain-killing drugs which left him drowsy and unable to follow Charlie Austin on a football pitch - and was in actual danger of having his foot amputated.

Twelve months on, as the Blues defender is enjoying the best spell of form of his Goodison career, Keane has opened up about the painful and worrying introduction he endured to his Everton career.

It all started in a Carabao Cup tie against Sunderland, when former Everton forward James Vaughan launched a two-footed tackle on Keane, missed by the referee, and for which he later apologised.

The challenge opened a wound in Keane's right foot which needed eight stitches to close, but for which the repercussions went on for almost four months.

Keane spoke for the first time about the problem to The Sunday Times' Jonathan Northcroft.

“I played on,” Keane said “but I knew that something wasn’t right and I had a hole straight through the top of my boot from his studs.

"I went in at half-time and my foot was aching but I didn’t do anything about it and played the second half. When I took my boot off again there was blood everywhere."

After having the wound stitched, the following day he woke up: "in absolute agony. I couldn’t put any weight on it. I took 10 minutes to get to the end of my bed."

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Advised to rest for three weeks, he returned just 10 days later against his old club Burnley.

The gash was healing but the foot was numb and needed considerable padding. A size 10 normally, Keane had to play in a size 12 football boot.

"I could kick a ball but the ‘feel’ wasn’t the same," he added. "I played quite well against Burnley but it was after that things took a turn for the worse."

After the home defeat by Arsenal, Ronald Koeman's last match as Everton manager, the foot swelled dramatically and inflammation started to spread up Keane's right leg.

See how Keane rated in Everton's defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford here

He was rushed to a private hospital in Liverpool and put on antibiotics. Initially the swelling continued before finally going down.

“If it had kept going up my leg that’s when it really gets serious — they said if it had got much worse we might have been looking at losing the foot,” Keane added.

Once again Keane was rushed back into action too quickly, popping painkillers and wearing outsized boots after spending just two games on the sidelines.

The issue finally came to a harrowing conclusion at Southampton when Everton were taken apart by The Saints and after 75-minutes Keane effectively substituted himself, wandering off the pitch.

"I think that the pills I was taking were making me very drowsy,” he said. “I felt that I couldn’t concentrate. It was weird for me. I’ve always been one who’s really focused and to be in a game and find concentration hard . . . I was trying to follow Charlie Austin and couldn’t. I was seeing things and not reacting.”

This time Keane finally got the opportunity to let the injury heal, playing just 10 minutes of Sam Allardyce's first five matches in charge.

(Image: Nick Potts/PA Wire)

But there was still one more obstacle to overcome.

On New Year's day Manchester United's Anthony Martial landed on his foot — in exactly the injured spot - and Keane had to spend two more matches on the sidelines while the injury re-healed.

When he returned against Leicester on January 31 he finally enjoyed an unbroken run of 14 consecutive starts until the end of the season - and started to produce some consistent form which has continued this season, a three match break as a result of a hairline fracture of the skull apart!

“In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t best for me to keep playing," said Keane "but I can’t say I’ve regrets. I was brought up to show determination. I didn’t want my teammates to think that I’d shy away from problems. The team was struggling and I wanted to be in the thick of the action.”

He has been in the thick of the action ever since.