Coach Mark Fotheringham is not the only one who missed out on a Huddersfield Town pre-season. Polish centre-back Helik feels he should be better off for this break too having had to get up to speed during the campaign.

Helik injured his ankle as a Barnsley player in April, and it was not until the season was up and running that he was fit enough to join Huddersfield.

"I didn't have a good pre-season," says the 27-year-old, who quickly cemented himself in the defence nevertheless. "I was injured for a long time in Barnsley.

NO PRE-SEASON: Michal Helik (right) was an injured Barnsley player in June and July

"It (the last month) was an important time for me. It was good we can train more. I feel more settled in the team, more prepared after our camp and I think it will be a different team now."

Players often speak about the importance of pre-season and how they feel it when they do not have one, but Helik downplayed the difficulty of playing catch-up.

"In the first games I felt I really missed the pre-season but I got into some momentum," he admits. "Maybe I felt it a bit.

"On the pitch you are not thinking about your fitness, you are more focused on the game but you can see the difference in the running stats."

More difficult was watching Poland at the World Cup he had hoped to play in.

"It was hard because I wanted to be there," he says. "I played in the qualifiers.

"In the end I was cheering for my team. I'm sad we're out but now we have qualifiers (for the 2024 European Championship). That's my aim – to play in them."

Huddersfield Town's Michal Helik looking to feed off 2022 World Cup disappointment and 'mini pre-season' work