Summer schedule is vital for Campbell as he looks to rediscover his best form
TYRESE Campbell will be ready to launch into a ‘huge pre-season’ to try to unlock his best form and show people what he can do, says Dean Holden.
Campbell missed the start of 2021/22 as he recovered from knee ligament damage sustained late in 2020, making his comeback in October and going on to make 30 appearances, scoring five times in league and cup.
The 22-year-old forward missed the end of the campaign while he underwent a planned follow-up procedure on his knee, careful with the timing to make sure he will be good to go from the off when players return to Clayton Wood next month.
Holden explained: “When he had his operation previously there was just something that needed removing at a certain stage. It was always going to happen and taking it out when we did allows it to settle down in the close season so he can come back at the start of pre-season.
“If we’d have left it a couple of weeks longer it might have hindered the start of pre-season training – and it’s a huge preseason for Tyrese.
“Obviously on the back of his injury last year he was playing catch up and you’re always going to have a stop-start return to games on the back of such a long injury.
“He’s had some good moments since he’s come back and he’s had some moments when he’s struggled a little bit. The key thing for Tyrese now is a full pre-season, get his fitness right up to speed and then he can show us what a good player he can be.
“We all know he’s got huge potential and it’s a big pre-season for him to really get stuck into that fitness work and show us what he can do.”
Stoke under-23s take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League 2 play-off semi-final at the bet365 Stadium tomorrow (3pm).
Under-23s assistant Dave Hibbert said: “We’ve had a settled squad for the first time in a long time this week. It’s been good to work with the lads. They’ve been up and training with the first team or out on loan and we’re fairly young as well so lads have been dipping down to the 18s.
“The experience of the loans is really important to the individuals and it’s a massive part of the development that we’ve done well this year. A couple will be coming back in to play in this game and hopefully get a positive result.
“Ethon (Varian) can’t be involved and Connor Taylor’s done what he’s done at Bristol Rovers, which is fantastic, but Eddy Jones is back (from Altrincham) and it’s been good to have the group together.”
Stoke lost at this stage at home to Sunderland last season and are expecting a decent crowd, with free parking and free entry on offer.
“We were disappointed in the semi-final last year, we didn’t deal with the occasion as well as we should have done and didn’t get the performance we were expecting,” said Hibbert.
“We were unbeaten since the turn of the year going into that game but came up short. It’s something we’re keen to address this year and players are buying into that as well. It’s about playing with freedom and confidence to enhance their reputations.
“Hopefully there will be a decent crowd. We’re fairly young and it’s going to be the first time some players have experienced that environment but we want more of these situations and that’s why we’re really pleased to get to the play-offs.”