Manchester United midfielder Fred is focusing on volume and intensity work in his individual training regime amid the suspension of football matches.

United issued players with individual programmes to maintain their fitness after domestic and European fixtures were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although the Premier League and the EFL pencilled in April 30 to resume the domestic calendar, that date is expected to be pushed back following a Premier League meeting on Friday.

United players have not trained at Carrington in nearly three weeks and Fred has undergone online sessions with physical trainer Túlio Horta. Fred has had his programme redesigned for isolation and intensified his focus on routines that have served him well since his programme was adjusted ahead of this season.

Despite missing two weeks of pre-season in July due to his wedding, Fred stepped up his fitness at the Five CT gym in Belo Horizonte. Fred continues to work with Professor LC Cameron, based at the Laboratory of Protein Biochemistry in Rio de Janeiro, on his durability.

Renato Pinheiro works with Professor Cameron and is in lockdown in Rio, where he has still conducted virtual training sessions via video calls with other footballers based in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Pinheiro was scheduled to visit Fred in Manchester last month to carry out evaluations on the Brazilian’s fitness before the outbreak of the coronavirus ground life to a halt. Pinheiro insists maintaining intensity in individual training is critical to prepare Fred for competitive matches whenever the season resumes.

“I have been in touch with Tulio, who is the physical trainer that is directly working with Fred,” Pinheiro told the MEN over the phone from Brazil. “And understanding what he has been doing exactly in terms of his physical co-training with Fred.

“They’re keeping the volume and intensity quite high, so that he loses as little as possible in this lockdown. We were on the brink of organising our next sport biochemistry evaluation for Fred and the week we were going to set our schedule, everything happened and all the championships went into lockdown and were suspended, and now we have to wait.

“Since I’m a physical trainer myself, me and Tulio have similar backgrounds in training, so we agree on mostly everything about what a football athlete needs to improve and the techniques that we like to use in physical training, so there’s no problem with that. Fred’s in very good hands.”

Fred was voted the United player of the month by supporters for January, scored two goals and assisted two more in his last two Europa League appearances, and has drawn praise from Pep Guardiola. “Fred’s had a great few months,” Pinheiro added. “He’s improving overall, and he’s become more adapted to the Premier League. I guess he’s going to keep getting better.”