Speaking to The Sun, Callum Wilson has revealed that he has relocated his family to the North East to avoid making an exhausting 700 mile-round trip in a bid to make the England squad for the World Cup in November.
His family had lived in Poole, Dorset and the striker would often travel down to visit them throughout the season in a strenuous 700-mile round trip that would “contribute to setbacks.”
However, in a bid to maximise his fitness and push himself back into the England squad, the 30-year-old will move his family onto Tyneside so that he can use his off-time in recovery sessions.
Last season alone, the Englishman missed fourth months due to injury but still managed to be Newcastle’s top scorer with eight.
With the talents of Harry Kane aside, there is no real shoe-in for the back-up forward in the national team – a space currently occupied by Roma’s Tammy Abraham and previously by Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Should Wilson manage to stay healthy for the next six months, his record of one goal in every two games – 20 in 44 for Newcastle – will put him in good stead for the prestigious call-up which he last received back in 2019.
Read his full interview:
“I know I need to stay fit. It’s been frustrating and I’m putting things in place off the field I know can add small percentages to contribute.
“Basically, my family still live in Poole down in Dorset. Travelling back and forth to see them after games and on days off probably contributed to having setbacks over the last two years.
“I’m going to move them up with me. That is going to minimise travel so on my days off I’ll actually be going to the training ground for recovery.
“It’s the only thing that has changed from before. The season before I joined Newcastle I played 39 games — but that’s dropped each season here.
“‘When you have an injury, if you don’t then build up that accumulative load you can get another injury because your body is not robust enough.
“This will stand me in good stead. I want to be fit and firing from the start of next season to give myself the best opportunity to represent my country at a World Cup. That is my driving motivation this summer.”
