Swansea physio Richie Evans talks up the club's new fitness regime

The Swans have picked up just one injury pre-season - that to Gorka Pintado - and that is something that Evans puts down to the improved fitness routine at the club that has made this squad one of the fittest ever to grace the Swansea shirt.

Speaking in today's Evening Post, Evans says ''Data from ProZone has given us an insight into exactly what will be required from every individual this season, and we are not going to lose out as far fitness is concerned.

''Thanks in part to technology and in part to the blend of staff we have, this is the fittest squad we've had in my nine years at the club.

''The manager, Graeme Jones, Colin Pascoe, (assistant physio) Ailsa Jones and (masseur) Oscar Brau all play their part, and no stone is left unturned now as far as fitness goes.

''Academic studies into the fitness of some of the top clubs in Italy have been published.

''We have compared our results to them and they are just as good. We are just as fit and just as fast.

''The lads were screened for every single physical attribute you could think of in the first couple of days of pre-season and since then we've been working on each individual's specific needs.

''We are able to do that - rather than work on basic fitness - because the players all had conditioning programmes to do over the summer.

''Pre-season isn't about getting fit any more, it's about improving fitness levels. We have been working on helping each player strengthen further with two goals in mind - to make them fitter and stronger and to reduce the risk of injuries.''

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