Jed Steer’s had time to heal for Aston Villa

The 27-year-old had to withdraw seven minutes into his first Premier League appearance in four years, when he suffered a partial tear of his Achilles in the 2-1 loss away at Wolves in November.

Despite the frustration of the injury, home workouts and continued rehab has given the goalkeeper a chance to take advantage of the coronavirus lockdown.

“The rehab has gone really well and, as worrying as it is with the UK in lockdown, these weeks off have given me extra time to get stronger,” he said.

“It’s been frustrating that I haven’t been able to get out on the grass sooner, but this time at home has given me the chance to really work on my strength and it felt so good to get my boots back on.”

The Premier League has been suspended since March 13 due to the pandemic and Steer has heaped praise on the coaching staff for their innovative ways of working remotely.

“Leading up to the lockdown, my physio John put measures in place that would enable me to work from home,” he added.

“It was actually a fairly smooth transition for me. Fortunately I have recently converted my garage into a gym and that couldn’t have come at a better time. I have strength days in the gym and then I have days outside. I’m in my garden and John is in his and we go through my session together over FaceTime. We’ve also got a group chat with all the boys and the manager in. He has been in regular contact with the players.

“While we haven’t been able to get into the training ground as a group, we have been able to keep up contact and improve as a squad and individually.

“Us injured boys would see lots of each other in training. It is never nice to see anyone injured but you create a little group and you work in and around each other.

“When I was in the physio room I had John McGinn joining me, with Tom Heaton and Wesley also being treated. You have up days and you have down days. It’s on those down days that your colleagues and mates help you through it.”