Midfielder fit and ready to start training
One person who is looking forward to pre-season more than most is Oxford United's Jon Meades.Meades, who signed for United from AFC Bournemouth last summer, suffered an ankle injury in a pre-season game against Coventry City and missed the whole of last season as a result.
Now he is raring to go, as he told www.oufc.co.uk: "I'm really looking forward to pre-season training because last season wasn't the season I wanted because of the injury. I'm itching to get back and to meet up with all the lads."
The 22-year-old, who can play either at left-back or in midfield, continued, "I spent the first two weeks of the summer just relaxing completely and that did my ankle the world of good and there are no problems with it now. I've been following the programme that Ali Lane [head of sports science] gave me at the end of last season and it's stepped up a bit as pre-season approaches and now I'm ready to hit the ground running."
The players report back to the club on Monday and will spend the first part of next week undergoing fitness tests before the hard training starts. "I'm not looking forward to all the running," Meades told us, "But it's part and parcel of football so we have to get on with it."
With the first pre-season friendly at Farnborough a little over two weeks away on 12th July, the players will all be working hard as they prepare for action.