Oxford United have altered their training plans as a result of the prolonged absence during the lockdown period.
Karl Robinson’s side have been pushed hard in training this season, but following the extension made by the EFL, the U’s boss believes it is best to reduce some of the physical pressures on his squad.
Tomorrow will mark four weeks since the U’s were last in action – a 3-2 win at Shrewsbury Town – and is also the date that the EFL initially intended for teams to return to team training, but that obviously can’t happen due to the lockdown enforced by the government.
With no date set for returning to training, Robinson has had to adapt the workload set to his players.
He told the Oxford Mail: “The longer this goes on, the less you need to do now.
“If we’re not going to play for another six weeks and you’ve been really running your boys for three weeks already, then all of a sudden that becomes too much. It’s about getting that balance right.
“The first week we really did push them but now seeing the severity of the situation we’ve come off the players a little bit.
“The news is talking about a peak (for the virus) being in the middle of this month, so I can’t see that as the date we’ll be going back in.”
Instead of physical training, Robinson has got his side focusing on other elements, which he hopes will help the players when they return.
He added: “We have been focusing more on injury prevention.
“Building up groins, hamstrings and thighs, so when we get going again we’ll have a better base.”
At the moment, the return date for league football is April 30, but the EFL, Premier League, PFA and LMA are discussing a variety of options for the next course of action over the next few days.
These include declaring the season null and void, postponement for a longer period or even finishing the current season as it is now.
