Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin has been forced to do one-on-one fitness sessions with fitness coach Cristian Fernandez, according to The Chronicle.
The newspaper claims that despite the Frenchman now being back to full fitness and training with his teammates, the club are still making him follow a tailored programme.
The 22-year-old carried some injury problems over to Newcastle from life at former club OGC Nice, where he endured an interrupted pre season.
OPINION
This is an entirely positive move from Newcastle. They need to be sure that Saint-Maximin is back to his 100% best, because he looks set to be a key player for the Magpies moving forwards. However, we saw what happened when he was rushed back into the team against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season. He suffered a recurrence of his pre-existing injury and spent even more time on the sidelines. That’s clearly what the club are looking to avoid, which is why they’ve got him working with Fernandez. The Chronicle’s report states that Bruce previously worked with Fernandez at Hull City so he clearly trusts him implicitly. He’s set him the task of working one-on-one with Saint-Maximin, helping to ensure that one of the most dynamic players in the Newcastle squad is at his electric best for the foreseeable future. Let’s hope that that proves to be the case.
