'I need to show' - Tyrese Campbell opens up on pre-season, recovery and Stoke signing his pal

Tyrese Campbell hopes his first proper pre-season in three years will help him get back up to and beyond the levels he was playing at before his major knee injury.

Campbell, now aged 22, came out of the pandemic-shortened turnaround in 2020 to gradually hit the form of his life before a dreadful ligament injury ruled him out for the best part of 2021. He came back to make 30 appearances last season but knows the importance of finding peak fitness to deliver his ambitions.

“This is a big season for me,” he said. “I want to help the team and be playing every game. Last season I didn’t have enough football and I need to be doing everything I can to be one of the first names on the teamsheet. That meant working hard in the off-season. I had my holidays but I was still working when I was there. I was happy to do that. Football’s my job and I’ve got to dedicate myself to it.

“Pre-season is massive for any footballer just to build them and get that base of fitness, get the minutes in the pre-season games and hit the ground running in the first game feeling good – instead of coming back in September, missing pre-season, it’s hard. From a fitness aspect it’s massive.”

He added in an interview for the club website: “I feel good. It’s my first pre-season in a while and I think it was something that was needed.

“We spoke about it, me, the gaffer and sports science: pre-season was a massive thing for me. To be able to get that and not miss any training or days when I’m feeling anything is important and I’m feeling really good.”

Campbell missed the final fortnight of last season to complete a minor operation on his knee, taking out an anchor that had helped the initial healing process. It has helped remove an ‘irritation’ that, on