PLAYERS EVEN HELPED TO COOK OMELETTE

PREMIER LEAGUE clubs’ efforts to keep their stars fit even include an app showing how to make a healthy omelette.

Clubs have stepped up support for players who are away from the usual rigid structure that sees them surrounded team-mates and coaches.

Some are suffering from anxiety over football’s shutdown and worry about their families.

Players are getting help with their mental as well as physical health. They can download six training sessions a week from GPS watches to prove they are working and get personalised instructions for home cooking.

Club doctors are now taking centre stage in managing the health of players who don’t know when they’ll be in action again.

Newcastle have been at the forefront of this since becoming the first club to ban handshakes as the virus threat emerged. They are drip feeding info to stars like Matt Ritchie and Jamaal Lascelles to promote positivity and learning.

And the players are also getting Vitamin D supplements because they are missing out on exposure to sunshine.

Club doctor Dr Paul Catterson (above), who has also appeared on the club’s Be A Game Changer Facebook broadcast, which aims to get fans talking openly about mental health, said: “For the next step we are going to do recipe videos.

“For instance, if you want to cook an omelette click on this link, here are the ingredients. Nutrition is how you keep muscle mass up at the moment.”

The club is also holding mental health weeks where players can talk privately and are guided towards advice.

Whatsapp groups have been set up to maintain contact with fitness coaches and kit from Newcastle’s gym has been loaned out for strength training. Catterson added: “They are normal human beings. I have picked up that there is