LEIGHTON Baines admits he has barely had a summer break in order to be fighting fit for Everton FC’s bid to start the season in form.
The England defender made only his second pre-season appearance for his club during yesterday’s 2-0 defeat by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, but even though Baines has not had much match action he has been putting in extra time in the gym.
He said: “When your football has continued on past the end of the season, it’s important that you get at least three or four weeks where you can rest and switch off, both physically and mentally.
“Then you come back ready to go.
“I only took a week off to be honest.
“ I figured it wouldn’t be that long before I was back so I might as well stay in decent shape.
“You do that in the hope of avoiding injury more than anything. You get put through your paces when you come back in pre-season and there’s a lot of stress put on your body.
“If you let yourself go too far, that’s where you’re going to get niggles and start missing important sessions.
“If you keep yourself up to scratch physically, you can get the full benefit when you start the season.”
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