Newcastle United players were warned their time away from the training ground was 'no holiday' and they needed to 'keep working' after being handed individual training programmes amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Following the authorities' decision to suspend professional football in England, football operations at the Magpies’ training ground were shut down from Friday, March 13.
Club staff had been preparing for this eventuality for several weeks and personal training programmes had already been laid out for each member of the squad to maintain their basic fitness at home.
Each player was given a smartwatch and their progress and GPS data can be monitored remotely.
The players have been busy working out in their in-house gyms and gardens, and Federico Fernandez has given an insight into what life away from Benton has been like.
"From the club, we have to do some fitness work - they've told us pretty clearly it's no holiday and we need to keep working - so I've tried to do that at home or outside in the garden,” he told the club’s website.
"I love to play with the kids and stay with the family and my wife, sharing a lot of time together that sometimes can be difficult. I speak with my family in Argentina, where the virus has now started - more than 100 cases - so obviously our parents and grandparents need to take it very seriously.”
"After that, there is not much to do. I just help my wife clean the house and tidy up all the toys! We are doing OK. We know it could be a long time with this situation. We will stay calm and stay at home. It's not only about us - it's about everyone.”
