Dominic Calvert-Lewin aims to end ‘vicious cycle’ ahead of new Everton campaign
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has said that he is aiming to escape a “vicious cycle” of injuries that have plagued him in recent seasons as he has tried to rush back from injuries.
The 26-year-old forward has been plagued by injury issues and last season was limited to only 15 Premier League starts as the Toffees avoided relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the season.
The England international has taken time over pre-season to focus on his training programme in an attempt to stay fit once he finally returns to action and he has praised Sean Dyche for helping him in that process.
Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside on Monday (7 August) Calvert-Lewin said: “It’s been a vicious cycle of rushing back, with an expectation on me to be back and not being allowed time to get 100% fit. The manager came in and said, ‘You’re not coming back until you are fully fit’. When I come back, I am not a passenger, I have a job to do leading the line.
“It was almost like factory reset when the season finished. It was like, ‘What can we do differently, what’s going wrong?’ When you can’t physically do that and perform on a regular basis, it is the most frustrating thing in the world. I am over that now and in a good space of mind to go and attack the season.”
Like a new signing
A fully fit and firing Calvert-Lewin has the potential to be like a new signing for Everton this season, with the impact that he is capable of having in the Premier League no longer fresh in the memory of supporters outside of Goodison Park.
The 26-year-old took the division by storm in the 2020/21 campaign, scoring 16 goals in 32 starts and there are few teams more in need of that sort of prolific finisher than the Toffees who were the division’s second-lowest scorers last season.
With the likes of Ashley Young and Arnaut Danjuma joining the ranks at Goodison, Calvert-Lewin is more likely to have more service from his teammates than he has since the departure of James Rodriguez and if he stays fit he’ll hopefully hit similar heights again.
With the season on the horizon and the 26-year-old featuring for 45 minutes in each of the last two pre-season matches, hopefully, it won’t be long until we see Calvert-Lewin leading the line on Merseyside once more and his new fitness plan that included yoga will see him available for the whole season.
In other Everton news, Alan Myers has issued an update on the Toffees’ pursuit of Wilfried Gnonto