Gylfi Sigurdsson says he is in better physical shape than a decade ago when he was emerging as a serious talent with Reading – and the Everton midfielder has returned to training intent on extending his top-level career a long way into the future.

Sigurdsson was back at USM Finch Farm last week after an enforced absence of nearly 10 weeks from the Club’s training headquarters.

Everton closed all its premises on Friday 13 March as a result of the coronavirus pandemic but players were on Monday given the go-ahead to train in small groups, while adhering to a number of strict measures.

Icelander Sigurdsson, who maintained a home training regime for the past two months, has played 26 Premier League games this season.

The 30-year-old started nine of Carlo Ancelotti’s 11 league fixtures as boss, missing out twice in January only due to a minor groin injury.

And Sigurdsson insists his internal drive, coupled with the support of wife Alexandra, means he never wants for motivation to train at full throttle and match that effort on the pitch.

“My wife is with me 24/7 and puts up with me when we lose and things aren’t going well, so she pushes me every day,” said Sigurdsson.

“[The desire to perform comes from] myself as well. I still have the ambition to improve and play at this level.

"My body still feels great so… it’s hard to say how many years I’ve got left. But I feel physically better than I probably did when I was 20.

“It was nice to get back into training and see some faces, even though we are obviously keeping a big distance between us, and to actually train with someone.”

Everton made tentative strides towards competing for a position in the Premier League’s upper reaches following manager Ancelotti’s appointment back in December.

The Blues claimed 18 points from a possible 33 under the Italian before football's suspension and are divided from sixth-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers by five teams but only six points.

Sigurdsson, then, is understandably keen to resume the campaign, safety permitting, and was an interested observer when Germany’s Bundesliga restarted last weekend.

It has, admits Sigurdsson, been a “long nine weeks” without football.

But he has utilised his rare free time around solo training to harness a budding talent for the piano and – in common with a proportion of the sporting public – watch The Last Dance, the fabulous Netflix documentary chronicling basketball superstar Michael Jordan’s career with Chicago Bulls.

“I’ve been trying to stay as busy as I can and make the most of each day and I’ve kept busy with training but it’s been a long nine weeks,” continued Sigurdsson, who joined Everton from Swansea City in August 2017.

“I saw the clips from the Bayern Munich game [against Union Berlin, on Sunday]. It was obviously nice for fans to be able to watch football again.

“It’s different with the empty stadiums. But I think it’s a positive step…. another move towards some normality, whenever that may be.

“Away from football and training I’ve been practising my chipping in the garden and trying to play the piano.

“I bought it when I was at Swansea a couple of years ago and go through phases of really wanting to get into it but then I come off it.

“I’ll get there eventually.

“I’m on episode seven or eight of The Last Dance.

“I watch them while I’m having breakfast before I go to train.

“It’s fantastic to be able to see how his [Jordan’s] mind works and how he thinks about everything and how competitive he is.

“I think it’s not just a great show but great for sports fans to be able to get closer to him and see how he thinks.”