Enda Stevens returned to fitness and form to win a new contract at Stoke City and an international recall for Republic of Ireland

Enda Stevens has revealed a pre-match injection he received to try to play through the pain barrier for Stoke City last winter instead led to weeks on the sidelines.

The 33-year-old left-back desperately wanted to be involved in a crucial home match against Sheffield Wednesday last December, when pressure was mounting on manager Alex Neil. He underwent what is understood to have been an eye-wateringly painful procedure on his toe and, worse still, it didn’t work. He was withdrawn at 0-0 after 71 minutes, Stoke lost 1-0 to an injury time goal and Neil was sacked.

Stevens wasn’t fit to play again until late March, having impressed Neil’s replacement Steven Schumacher as he came through 45 minutes of a behind-closed-doors friendly during the final international break of the season. He then played an instrumental role on the pitch and in the changing room as Stoke pulled clear of the Championship relegation zone.

That form and influence has earned him a new 12-month contract and a recall to the Republic of Ireland squad for friendlies over the next week against Hungary and Portugal.

He said: “I’ve held onto (playing for Ireland again) but it was a bit of a shock. My last game was against France (in September) when I went off injured so it was looking unlikely but it came in the summer and I’m delighted.

“It was a frustrating season. I got injured (in September) having been in a good place. I came away with Ireland and got injured in the game and it was a bit of a set-back. Then I got back playing and made a bold decision to do something before a game… I got an injection before a game that didn’t really work out for me and that set me back again. Coming back from that then took a bit longer.

“I’d had an impact on my toe and I had it injected before we played against Sheffield Wednesday, which I probably shouldn’t have done. It just didn’t work and I was out for a few weeks after that, then I got injured again in training.

“You don’t want to accept (that you should sit out for a match), you just think you can get through it and it was probably stupid move for me. It’s a spur of the moment decision, something I did and shouldn’t have done and it was a few weeks on the sidelines.”

A tip from former Ireland teammate Glenn Whelan, who had watched Stevens play for Stoke in the spring, to interim boss John O’Shea helped to seal the defender’s return to the international fold.

And Stevens, who has been talking to the media as he prepares to take on Hungary on Tuesday night, is also enjoying working alongside another old Ireland pal at the bet365 Stadium in Jon Walters.

He said: “Jon came in a temporary position at the start and he was getting to grips with what was going on and he was in the background a little bit. Then when he cemented the job I saw a bit more of him and we had a few good conversations. Hopefully he can get together with the manager now and we’ll be more competitive next season.”