Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Kyle Walker, Manchester City, England
Josh Lawless
Manchester City captain Kyle Walker has revealed the new hobby he has picked up during the summer.
Walker was given plenty of time off by City after helping England to the Euro 2024 final in Germany, playing seven times.
He, along with England teammates John Stones and Phil Foden missed the Community Shield win over Manchester United at the weekend but are expected to return to training imminently ahead of the season opener against Chelsea.
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Walker is now 34 and approaching his eighth Premier League campaign with City.
But the former Spurs right-back has been keeping himself occupied in the summer, enjoying a new sport.
Padel, a hybrid between squash and tennis, has become the new craze in the UK.
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Played in doubles on an enclosed court with glass panels and a wire mesh fence, it can be a brutal test of skill and fitness.
And Walker has been getting stuck right into padel during his break.
Speaking to BBC 5 Live's Monday Night Club, he said: "I've actually got into Padel [over the summer].
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"I've been playing quite a bit of that down in a place that I've got in Wales. So that's been me ticking over [in the summer]... There's improvements to be made."
Walker lifted the Premier League title for the sixth time last season, but the triumph was made more special by the fact it was his first as captain.
City made it an unprecedented four Premier League titles in a row under Pep Guardiola and Walker believes the hunger for a fifth is still present.
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"For us to go and do four in a row off the back of a Treble was a great achievement," Walker said.
"To pick yourself up and go again after such a high, plus we won the Super Cup and Club World Cup as well, was especially important.
"Now, why can't we go and do five in a row? Why can't we go and do something I don't think will probably be ever be done again? That's the motivation we have to create from us as a group of players, from me as a captain."