Two groups at the Mugnaini

Having sealed their place in the next round of the Coppa Italia on Friday, Marco Giampaolo’s Sampdoria squad got back into the swing of things on Saturday morning to kick off preparations for the Serie A curtain-raiser against Atalanta at 18:30 CEST at the Ferraris on Saturday 13 August.

Under the sun at the Mugnaini in Bogliasco with president Marco Lanna and directors Carlo Osti and Daniele Faggiano watching on, the staff split the players into two groups. Those heavily involved against Reggina took part in a recovery session on the pitch and in the gym, while the rest of the players played in an in-house game against the Primavera side.

Andrea Conti had an individual recovery programme, while Simone Trimboli continued with his post-operation period of rest.

The players will have the day off on Sunday before returning to the training ground on Monday afternoon.