James Milner wins Liverpool’s pre-season lactate fitness test

32-year-old James Milner wins pre-season lactate fitness test as Liverpool new boy Naby Keita makes it down to final six on first day back at Melwood

• James Milner proved he is the fittest Liverpool player by winning the lactate test 
• In total 26 players returned to Melwood on Monday for pre-season training
• New signings Naby Keita and Fabinho joined up with the squad for the first time
• The test is a way of measuring a player’s aerobic endurance following each lap 

By Kate Mcgreavy For Mailonline

Published: 12:40 BST, 3 July 2018 | Updated: 13:30 BST, 3 July 2018

Thirty-two-year-old James Milner proved he is the fittest Liverpool player by winning the lactate test on the first day of pre-season training.

In total 26 players returned to Melwood on Monday morning after their breaks following the Champions League final defeat in May.

Georginio Wijnaldum and Virgil van Dijk were absent along with the eight players representing their countries at the World Cup. 

Liverpool players had to complete the lactate test on their first day of pre-season training

James Milner (second right) proved he is the fittest Liverpool player by winning gruelling test

Blood is taken from an ear lobe after each lap to see how much lactic acid there is

New signings Naby Keita and Fabinho joined up with the squad for the first time and after the squad was put through fitness tests inside and the players were weighed, they headed out on to the pitch for the gruelling lactate test.

The test is a way of measuring a player’s aerobic endurance by taking their blood from an ear lobe at the end of each level. 

The sample shows how much lactic acid there is and if it is over a certain level they cannot continue any further. 

Naby Keita made it down to the final six (right) in test on Monday during pre-season training

New signings Naby Keita (pictured) and Fabinho joined up with squad for first time at Melwood

Midfielder Adam Lallana finished second behind 32-year-old Milner in the lactate fitness test

WHAT IS A LACTATE TEST? 

Measures aerobic endurance

Blood samples reveal how much lactic acid there is

If the amount of lactic acid is over a certain level, they cannot continue any further

Speed and distance of laps increase 

It is a case of last man standing after increasing the distance ran and speed, starting off at 8km/h for two laps (800 metres).

Milner was that last man standing, reportedly running at a speed of 24km/h, while Fabinho stopped early on. 

Keita made it down to the final six alongside Andy Robertson, Ragnar Klavan, Danny Ings, Milner and Adam Lallana, who finished second.

Manager Jurgen Klopp did predict as the squad were running that Milner would win and as Milner and Lallana passed him he said: ‘The hope of English football’. 

Manager Jurgen Klopp did predict as the squad were running that Milner would be victorious

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