Andre Gomes believes the enforced break in Premier League football can allow him to return even "more prepared” as he strives to obtain optimum fitness after an extended injury layoff earlier this season.

The Portuguese midfielder admits “missing everything about football” but is aiming to draw the positives from a difficult situation, including seeing everyone in football work together to help those in need.

Gomes also paid tribute to Everton’s Blue Family campaign, which is providing support for isolated and vulnerable members of the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 26-year-old, who joined the Blues on a permanent deal last summer after a successful loan spell at Goodison Park in 2018/19, suffered a fractured ankle in Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 2 November.

He went on to make a rapid comeback, returning just three-and-a-half months later as a substitute in the Toffees’ clash with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Gomes started Everton’s final two matches before the Premier League was suspended and says he is using the hiatus to be at the peak of his powers when he's back on the pitch.

“I was happy to be back and I want to be playing but maybe this time out gives me even more of a chance to be prepared in terms of the injury,” he said.

“I’m seeing that as a positive while I am missing playing and being away from my teammates.

“I miss the boys, the normal routine, having lunch with them, talking about football and life

“I miss everything about football.

“It’s hard because we are not on holiday but at the same time we have more time at home.

“We have to keep to a routine to keep fit, because once we are allowed to play it will be intense.

“For me, I try to do two or three routines a day and then take a moment to go out for a run once a day for some fresh air.

“I take the rest of the day to relax and talk with friends and family.”

Everton’s Blue Family campaign has seen Club and charity staff reach out to those in greatest need during the pandemic, with more than 1,750 check-in phone calls being made by staff, players and Club Ambassadors.

Emergency food parcels and medical prescriptions have also been purchased and delivered, while the money raised through the initiative has helped support a range of outreach projects across Merseyside.

Click here for more information about Blue Family and to make a donation.

“The Club started the Blue Family campaign and it is doing an amazing job with the community, which is not new,” Gomes added.

“The Club is helping people who are isolated, who may have issues, financial problems, so it is the same as us players who want to help.

"It’s really important right now to be more together.”

Gomes has also thrown his weight behind the #PlayersTogether initiative, which was created by Premier League players as a collective way of generating funds for the National Health Service in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

“All the teams are involved and it’s really important to help the NHS and help the people who are suffering in this pandemic,” he added.

“It’s a hard time, we don’t know how long we have to stay at home, so it’s good for us to be together for one cause and that cause is to help those in need.

“In the Premier League we are competing every week against the other teams but this is totally different, a time to be all together and show a good example and attitude for others.”

Gomes is representing Everton in the inaugural invitational ePremier League FIFA tournament this week, with all prize funds from the event going to the #PlayersTogether scheme.

The former Barcelona and Valencia player kicked off his campaign with a thumping 8-0 win over Chelsea’s Reece James.

He will take on Raheem Sterling of Manchester City in a quarter-final showdown on Friday afternoon.

Gomes explained how his innate competitiveness means he is hungry to come out on top, no matter what the challenge is.

“I’m not sure if I’m the best [at Fifa at Everton] because a few of my teammates play a lot when we’re at the hotel for away games and I never play against them,” he said.

“I hadn’t played a lot but starting practising in the last week. I was rusty to I needed to catch up!

“It’s a competition for a good cause, first of all, but then there’s obviously competition and I think that’s normal.

‘It’s a different environment [to real football] but similar in that I want to win and the other players want to win as well.

“For me, if I don’t know how to play something I will try and try and try until I beat the opponent.

“I love to play basketball as well and tennis and I’m the same with them.”