Preston boss Ryan Lowe has kept a close eye on the fitness levels of his players over the festive period

Ryan Lowe says Preston North End’s squad were monitored closely during their enforced break over Christmas.

Those who tested positive for Covid were given the necessary health advice while they self isolated.

For the players who didn’t have to isolate, there were exercise programmes to maintain their fitness levels.

Most of the squad were back in training on Thursday, with a couple more returning to Euxton yesterday.

Now all eyes are on the visit to Stoke City on Monday which will be North End’s first game for more than three weeks.

Lilywhites manager Lowe said: “We’ve had a Strava group for fitness.

“The fitness coach Tom Little and our physio Matt Jackson have looked after that side of things.

“They were deciding which lads could do something and those you couldn’t.

“We had to be careful with putting too much work into the lads who had Covid, making sure it didn’t affect them.

“There were some lads who were worse off than others in terms of how they felt.

“When we came back on Thursday, we had a group of about 10 who went in part way through the session because you can’t put too much into them on the first day.

“That’s part of the protocol, the first couple of days has to be phased.

“Yesterday they could do a bit more, with Saturday and Sunday being important in terms of getting work into them.

“It’s not just us having to do things like, most clubs around the country will be doing it.

“When the lads weren’t in training there was a lot of work for the coaching staff and myself to do in terms of preparing for the games and the analysis side of things.”

Lowe and his No.2 Mike Marsh watched Stoke in action against Derby on Thursday night ahead of Monday’s clash.

North End are testing on a daily basis as they monitor the Covid situation.

Lowe hopes that with a big chunk of the squad having had the virus recently, they have a run at the next set of games without too many issues.

There’s the possibility of other cases being identified and that will have to be managed the best it can.

EFL rules say that a team can play if they have 13 players and a goalkeeper available.

Interestingly, the 25-man squad rule has been amended in the current situation.

It does allow for those who were not in the registered pool to be available if needed.

Said Lowe: “The rules have changed and you have to give the 25-man squad in the day before a game.”

Meanwhile, PNE’s clash with Sheffield United has been rearranged for Tuesday, January 18, kick-off 7.45pm.

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