ZIMBABWE international Tino Kadewere is among the group of 27 players from Olympique Lyon that have embarked on a week-long training camp in Spain.
Lyon are now two weeks into their pre-season and are looking to step up preparations in Spain where they will face Villarreal on Thursday at Pinatar Football Centre as part of the training camp.
They are looking to wind up their tour with another friendly match, against Sporting Club de Portugal, on Sunday.
Kadewere is hoping to feature in these friendly matches after he missed the action at the weekend when Lyon hosted FC Villefranche Beaujolais and Germany Bundasliga side, Wolfsburg.
The 25-year-old, who had a refreshing off-season holiday at home, is looking forward to an improved second season in the French top tier league.
Kadewere is in his second season at Lyon and missed his team’s last two games of the 2020/21 championship due to a muscle injury.
His side narrowly missed out on the Champions League spot after finishing fourth.
The Zimbabwean striker started his debut Ligue 1 season on fire after scoring seven goals between October and December.
However, he was plagued by injuries that affected his form as he finished the season on 10 goals. The former Harare City star weighed in with three assists in 33 matches for Lyon.
Kadewere is expected to play a bigger part in Lyon’s campaign this year, following the departure of their main striker Memphis Depay.
The Dutch forward joined Spanish giants Barceona following the expiry of his contract. Another key Lyon player Houssem Aouar has also been linked with a move to England, where Arsenal and Liverpool are reported to have expressed interests.
Lyon now have a new coach, Peter Bosz, who replaced Rudi Garcia, who had brought Kadewere to the club.
Kadewere said being close to his family during the off-season break gave him strength to kickstart the new season on a high
Olympique Lyon training camp squad:
Lopes, Pollersbeck, M. Barcola, D. Da Silva, Denayer, Diomande, Dubois, Gusto, Henrique, Koné, Lukeba, Marcelo, Aouar, Caqueret, F. Da Silva, Jean Lucas, H. Keita, Thiago Mendes, Thomas, B. Barcola, Bossiwa, Cherki, Cornet, Dembélé, Kadewere, Slimani, Toko Ekambi.