Testing Day For Foxes Squad

Captain Wes Morgan, goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel and youngsters Liam Moore and Jeff Schlupp were among the few given additional time off following international commitments at the end of last season. Another will be Algerian international Riyad Mahrez, whose off-season break is only just about to begin following the Desert Foxes’ elimination from the World Cup in Brazil at the hands of Germany on Monday night.

Otherwise, the squad was fully represented on Tuesday and underwent a series of tests to gauge their fitness, eight weeks after the close of their triumphant Football League Championship campaign and a little over six weeks before they make their bow in the Barclays Premier League.

Split into two groups – one comprising defenders and forwards and the other made up of midfield players – the squad went through a series of physical examinations before their strength and power statistics were compared with those recorded at the end of last season.

They then made their way to the Academy’s 4G indoor facility for an intensive running test – a demanding physical examination they have probably not seen the last of this summer – wearing GPS monitors to track their progress every step of the way.

Pre-season training will officially begin on Monday (7 July), with those involved in internationals earlier in the summer set to report back during the ensuing days. The squad will travel to Austria for a pre-season training camp on Sunday 13 July, returning to take on Ilkeston in their opening pre-season friendly on Tuesday 22 July.

The programme then moves into East Asia with a six-day trip to Thailand, including a , before further friendlies against Walsall (30 July), Preston North End (2 August), Milton Keynes Dons (4 August), Rotherham United (5 August) and Werder Bremen (9 August) back in the UK.

The 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season kicks off against Everton at King Power Stadium on Saturday 16 August.

Click to view the first team fixture list, including all pre-season dates and the full 2014/15 Barclays Premier League campaign.

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