Tottenham wing-back Ryan Sessegnon admits undergoing intense strength and conditioning in Portugal over the summer.
The England Under-21 international - set to feature against Italy in today's friendly - has been plagued by hamstring injuries since joining Spurs three years ago.
"It was to make my body more robust," he said. "My body can handle it a bit more when I'm fatigued now. That was mainly the reason I went away, to build that core strength around the body."
Asked if he would have booked the trip were it not for manager Antonio Conte, Sessegnon added: "Yes and no. Yes because from an injury point of view, I needed to do it.
"But in terms of the fitness, that was more because of Conte. People can see that I've put on a little bit of muscle. I was trying to improve that explosiveness as well.
"The other managers I've had at Spurs have been a bit more chilled with training. With this gaffer, even if we're doing tactical stuff, it's still physically hard.
"The longer runs, the hard distances - eight or nine kilometre runs in training three days before games. It's hard but your body adapts. Then when you're on the pitch it benefits you. I feel the whole team is stronger."