Everton’s players are tackling individual gym programmes and guided aerobic work as the Club’s medical and fitness staff steer Carlo Ancelotti’s squad through a training schedule away from USM Finch Farm.

Manager Ancelotti is in daily contact with his backroom team, with all football on hold until at least 30 April following the coronavirus outbreak.

Everton’s Director of Medical Services, Danny Donachie, and Francesco Mauri, the Club’s Head of Physical Conditioning, were at the forefront of efforts to establish renewed training plans after USM Finch Farm was closed earlier this month.

The immediate priority was to supply players with conditioning advice for the suspension period.

“We have given them their usual gym programmes added to aerobic work they can do at home with a bike or treadmill, or in a safe outside space,” Donachie told evertonfc.com.

“The players follow individual gym programmes during the season, so the work they are doing is a continuation of that.

“We have not given them any football-specific training for now and everything they are doing is as safe as possible in terms of avoiding injury.

“Motivation is never an issue and there is some novelty for the players, they are at home and in their own gyms, so that benefits us in the short-term.”

Mauri, who arrived with fellow Italian Ancelotti back in December, was part of a concerted effort to provide players with catch-all direction over aerobic training.

He said: “It is a strange and difficult situation but we tried to react immediately… we decided to prepare a programme where the players have different training sessions for one week, but they can repeat those routines during subsequent weeks.

“We used our technology to send a programme with videos and descriptions of activities to the players.

“The training is focused on aerobic conditioning, strength and mobility.

“Our goal is to avoid loss of physical condition and some of the exercises are centred on injury prevention.

“I am sure that the players understand how it is important to move and to keep the body in good shape.

“We trust them and know they are professionals.”

With Everton sites, including USM Finch Farm, currently closed, players have no access to Global Positioning System (GPS) trackers, one of the preferred vehicles of calculating their training exertions.

Donachie and Mauri, however, agree that the modern professional footballer typically needs monitoring against over-exertion, not coaxing into the gym.

“We trust the players to maintain their fitness,” said Donachie.

“In the summer we give them programmes and they can go for four-to-six weeks with no monitoring.

“But as soon as they come back you can see they have done the work.

“The players return having worked a lot of the summer.

“I encourage them to have at least two weeks off but it is a challenge… they are keen to improve and not lose anything and you have to admire that.

“The manager’s main concern is the health of the players, staff and their families. He is behind everything we are doing and he is waiting for further developments, then we will know what we are going to do longer-term.”