Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has revealed the extent of his work over the summer and opened up about why he chose to head to the Myos Sports and Health Clinic in Germany.
Calvert-Lewin has endured frustration during the previous two seasons because of several injury problems. During the 2021/22 campaign, the England international managed just 18 appearances, scoring five times.
And last season the forward once again endured another miserable, injury-plagued campaign, managing just another 18 appearances and only scoring twice. Calvert-Lewin did return toward the end of the season, but a hamstring injury in the penultimate game at Wolverhampton Wanderers ruled him out of the final-day clash against Bournemouth.
Everton’s players returned for the start of pre-season training last Thursday, but Calvert-Lewin had already started his preparations for the new campaign long before his team-mates returned to Finch Farm. Desperate to find a long-term solution to his recent struggles, Calvert-Lewin visited the Myos Sports and Health Clinic in Munich to re-evaluate and start to build better foundations for his body.
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"I'm progressing really well and feeling good," he told evertontv. "I'm just upping and upping it every day, every week so far.
"I was back in before the lads as well, so this is more like my third week back in rather than my first. I worked pretty much all the way through the off-season.
"I tried to have a little rest, but for the most part, I just wanted to be back on the grass and running around playing football. The work I did was done to put myself in the best position possible for the new season.
"Obviously, it's a massive season for myself and for the club. For me, it's about getting back to the level that I know I'm capable of getting to on a consistent basis.
"That's been the frustrating thing for myself and everybody watching, because I think people know what I'm capable of doing on the pitch and know I can affect games, so to not be able to do that consistently has been very frustrating — and that's why I've done the extra work. It’s going well, and I’m building up to where I want to be."
Asked about his trip to Germany, Calvert-Lewin replied: "Obviously, after finishing the season not how I wanted to finish it on a personal note, it was a time to re-evaluate and start to build better foundations with my body.
"It was really good. It was an opportunity for me to get some extra training and extra work in. I was there for just over a week, doing double sessions.
"It makes it feel better when the games aren't being played and everyone else is on their holidays, so you don't feel the rush of telling yourself, 'get back fit, get back fit'.
"I was able to go there and do some work that is going to stand me in good stead for this season."