LeedsLive’s latest journal entry from Leeds United’s pre-season training camp in Germany, as the squad recovers from the Hannover 96 win.
When it comes to performance improvement, recovery is just as vital as training, thus Thursday in the Leeds United camp was much more casual. Wednesday’s match against Hannover, which had given the majority of the team valuable minutes, provided a lighter day for those muscles to heal.
The group began the morning in Germany with a team briefing before proceeding to a basketball court where mats had been laid out for stretching. Before they began, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto engaged in some lighthearted shadowboxing, as witnessed on the club’s social media pages.
Sports scientist Jack Pullan led the squad through the stretches in the middle, gradually easing their bodies into the day’s activity. Daniel Farke would walk over a little later, after hosting the meeting, and put on layers despite the heat.
The manager went onto one of the exercise bikes near the players and pedaled for a solid half-hour, building up a sweat in his slacks and long sleeves. Farke spoke with coach Eddie Riemer while the players went through their workouts.
The squad was eventually divided into two. One half walked to the club’s gym, which was set up in a neighboring tent, while the other half stayed on the mats, strapping cuffs around their thighs as they laid down.
Pullan later explained that they are blood restriction bands. These bands are connected to a device that allows you to increase and reduce the pressure on the limbs to which they are linked.
In this example, each player applies pressure to limit blood flow, causing muscular swelling, and then releases it to flush the blood through. He claims that everything contributes to the rehabilitation process.
While Joe Rothwell, Sam Byram, Ilia Gruev, Ethan Ampadu, and the rest of the squad appeared to relax and take it in stride, Mateo Joseph was clearly straining to cope with the sensation generated by the cuffs on his legs. After this brief workout, the players would be given ice baths to help them recuperate even more before their second friendly.
While everything was going on, Daniel James and Patrick Bamford, the only players left out of Wednesday’s matchday squad, were practicing alone. The former had a minor adductor niggle and did not want to worsen it, whereas the latter is still recovering from surgery in the spring.
They were practicing with Ruben Crespo, one of United’s rehab specialists, and things were going well. This was far from a passive or gentle activity. They were pushed through their paces, with lots of running, short sprints, sharp turns, and some ball training.
There is still optimism that they will be involved in the second friendly of the training camp. Farke stood on the lawn after finishing his bike ride, observing that couple stretch and speak with technical director Gretar Steinsson. Their bond is critical to Leeds’ recruitment efforts this summer.
Farke has been in a good mood this week. It’s been fascinating to witness a different side of him away from the fire of championship competition. He enjoys laughing and joking with not only the players, but also the staff and the media.
As Alex Cairns chats with LeedsLive, Farke leans in and praises the manager for his role in bringing the 31-year-old back to Thorp Arch. There are also some barely-joking jokes about how his day’s rest consisted of a 30-kilometer run, but his players are given two-minute rests between sets of lying down with the aforementioned cuffs.
The buildup to the next friendly in Germany begins today.
