Patrick Bamford says the high levels of the Premier League coupled with the fierce competition for playing time at Leeds United were part of the reason the striker underwent personal fitness training over the summer.
Images and footage of the 31-year-old partaking in individual exercises were posted on his social media accounts in recent months, having worked hard to come back from a three-month hamstring injury for the final seven games of last season.
Bamford, who has 12 months left on his contract, has suffered at least one setback in each of the past three campaigns. He only rejoined team training two weeks into pre-season last year and felt he was always making up for lost time afterwards.
“I think it’s like the foundation for the rest of the season when you do pre-season,” he told the Fozcast podcast in May. “So if you miss it, you are almost trying to catch up.”
As a result, Bamford is looking set himself up as best he can for the new season, having seen Lukas Nmecha’s arrival bulk up options at centre-forward with a new marquee striker also expected to be signed before deadline day.
The England international joined his colleagues for this year’s pre-season last week and was asked about how he has coped with the running drills. “There’s nothing that can really prepare you fully for it,” he told LUTV.
“You can do as much as you want over the (summer) but it’s different when you’re in proper training with the group." Asked about his summer regime, Bamford replied: "Maybe 25 years ago it was a full-on six-week break.
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“But now because the levels are so high and you’re always pushing for your place, everyone tries to keep as fit as possible. And also if you don’t, you pay for it when you come back, so it’s worthwhile doing it.”
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