Albrighton Feeling Refreshed Following Summer Break
- Leicester City’s squad returned for pre-season training this week
- Fitness testing formed part of the day at LCFC Training Ground
- Marc Albrighton reported back alongside some of his team-mates
- The midfielder says he is enjoying being back in the environment
The midfielder returned for his ninth pre-season at the Club on Monday morning following a 2021/22 campaign which saw him feature 31 times across six competitions, finding the net in both the Premier League and the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The 32-year-old is eager to help build on a progressive couple of years for the Club both on and off the pitch, which included moving to the state-of-the-art facility in Seagrave, LCFC Training Ground.
Talking to LCFC TV, he commented: “It’s been very nice. It’s always nice to get away with the family after a long, hard season, especially last season, which I’d say was probably the most difficult of my career in terms of the amount of games, the amount of travelling that you do and time away from family.
Pre-Season Training: Day One
Go behind-the-scenes of Leicester City's first day back at LCFC Training Ground.
“It was well needed to regroup and get away with the wife and kids and just relax for a bit. I absolutely love the time away, but I do think, if you ask a lot of the squad, there comes a point after a certain amount of time you’ve got off where you’re actually ready to come back in and start working again.
“It’s always nice to get away from Jamie Vardy at the end of the season, but it’s always nice to see him when you come back too!”
Just over a month on from the final game of last term, Albrighton revealed that the squad are able to maintain a base level of fitness over the break, which they can then build up in the first few weeks of pre-season after a period of rest and recovery.
He explained: “You enjoy your time off and do things that you can’t do when you’re in training, but we’re all lads that like to keep fit. Obviously from when we were younger, we’ve trained to be fit and healthy and live right.
“When you’re off, you don’t tend to live by those rules as much as you do during the season, but there’s still an element of keeping fit, it’s just nothing like the training we do here. It’s a totally different environment.
“Since I’ve been here, every year the standard goes up and up. There’s always that little bit of worry that as you’re getting older you may get left behind, but you look after yourself.”
One of the players reporting back in for the first day of pre-season, Albrighton conducted fitness testing alongside his team-mates inside the King Power Centre, after a morning gym session, with a chance to get out on the grass with a football at their feet following later in the day.
Albrighton Back & Ready To Go In Pre-Season
Marc Albrighton sits down with LCFC TV on the first day of pre-season as he talks through his summer and the squad's return to the training ground.
“It’s changed a lot really,” the ex-Aston Villa midfielder explained. “Gone are the days of just coming in and on the first day doing uphill on bikes, in parks and things like that. It’s more structured now.
“Day one consists of testing - whether that’s testing running or strength, or heart rate - to see where you’re at and if everyone’s in a good place. More than likely, everybody is.
“Having done it so many times, I know what I need to be fit and make sure I am in a good place. You do the right things, look after yourself.
“And then in the afternoon, the balls are out, and it will only be light, a bit of an adaption session, getting a reintroduction, getting used to the ball and your boots being on again and getting ready for the rest of the week.”