Luton defender Martin Cranie hopes the Coronavirus shutdown of football could help extend his career, with the break already serving to solve some niggling leg injury troubles.
The Hatters, like all professional clubs, have not seen any action for a month after matches were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
And while players were still training in the early days, the club made the decision to close their Brache training HQ, so the first team squad are all now just keeping fit at home.
The EFL have extended the season indefinitely and have said that no teams will return to training until May 16 at the earliest, with games reportedly mooted to resume on June 6, and that’s only if it is safe to do so.
Cranie is halfway through a two-year deal at Town and at 33 years old, is entering the twilight of his career, and asked if the current lay-off can help extend his time in the game, he said: “You never know. I’m hoping so.
“I feel, as I was training and played a few games just before we finished, that I’d had a few niggles and I was feeling a bit tight in areas. Now, I’ve got over that having these couple of weeks off.
“So, for me, I know I’ll be fresher going back in, it’s just a case of maintaining fitness for me and hopefully, if it can push me on a few years more, it could be beneficial for me.”
Cranie has had his injury concerns this season, playing just 16 times, which means he’s well versed in being able to better manage the boredom of not playing.
He said: “I’ve had a few lay-offs this year, so I’ve been used to not doing what I’d normally do daily, so I’ve probably been able to manage it a little bit better than people who are used to training day in, day out.
“I think the lads have got to try and treat it like they would in the summer, with the training they’d do when they have that summer break, because this year it looks like there’s not going to be much rest between finishing this season and starting next season now.
“So, maybe, if they don’t do much this week, then pick up the training again and treat it as if you would towards coming back for pre-season maybe, so you get your fitness up and then we can go straight back into it.”
However, Cranie admits that the current situation is still taking some adjusting to.
“It’s just trying to get a routine, really,” he said, adding: “A normal day for me would be at training in the morning, come back and I’d have the kids and that would be my normal daily routine.
“At the minute, I get up, try to do a bit of fitness work, try to do a bit of school work with the little ‘un, and then it’s just a case of trying to fill out the rest of the day, playing, taking them out for a walk, and that just seems to be the daily thing at the minute. But everyone’s in that boat.
“You lot can let loose a little bit in the evenings. I’m just sitting watching films and stuff.
“Listening to the news and reading the news, you can just see how serious it is. I think everyone has got to try and abide by these guidelines as much as possible, just by staying in and not going out in groups.
“The sooner we can start slowing the rate of infection and helping the hospitals and the NHS, who have been brilliant, the sooner we can get back to normal life.
“So, if everyone can just stay at home and do the right things, I’m sure we’ll turn it around.”
