Liam Pitchford says he’s “feeling good and moving well” as he prepares to pull on the England shirt for the first time in more than a year.

Pitchford is one of seven England athletes heading to Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the European Championships, beginning on Sunday.

He’s been fine-tuning his preparations this week at the Elite Training Centre in Sheffield, along with Sam Walker and Ella Pashley.

It has been a build-up largely dictated by the international calendar, with Pitchford arriving from the China Smash earlier than team-mates Tom Jarvis, Tin-Tin Ho and Connor Green and coaches Carlo Agnello and John Murphy – though Jarvis did make it back for a couple of days in Sheffield.

We spoke to the players in Sheffield – watch our Inside Camp preview below.

For Pitchford, the matchplay he had at the China Smash, and before that in the Bundesliga, has arguably been more important and useful than working in the training hall, as he continues his comeback from hip surgery last December.

“I’m feeling good with my game and where I’m at,” he said. “I’ve had quite a few matches over the last couple of weeks, which has helped my confidence. I won six matches in a row (four in the Bundesliga and two at the Smash), which I probably didn’t expect at this point coming back.

“I’d have like to have done better in China but I can’t really expect that much at the moment, I definitely need quite a few more matches . . . especially serve and receive, that’s the main part of the game that I’m probably lacking on a little bit, but everything else I’m feeling good.

“I’m moving well, the hip’s in good shape, so just looking forward to it really, to see what I can do.”

Newly married Walker arrived in Sheffield this week, having been training in Germany with Grenzau – where Pitchford has become a team-mate this season – and later at the Archway club in Peterborough. He and Pitchford will compete in the Men’s Doubles in Ljubljana and have been working on their combination.

“We haven’t actually played that much together because he’s played with Paul (Drinkhall) most of the time,” said Walker. “We’ve played a few times, it’s been pretty good, but we haven’t had that continuous time playing together.

“It’ll be interesting to see how we figure that out with each other, but we’ve been practising a little bit in Germany together and it’s going well.

“Obviously you’re always looking forward to representing England. (I’m) always excited to go out there, play in the England shirt and bring my best performance.”

“I’m looking forward to playing with Sam,” added Pitchford. “We’ve obviously played in the England team a long time together but we’ve not actually played that much doubles. When doubles came into the team event, Paul and Sam were playing together a lot, so we never really got a chance.

“It’ll be nice to go out there and have a bit of fun and see where we’re at. We both know how capable we are at doubles, so it’s just about gelling together.”

For Ella Pashley, it is a first time at the individual Europeans, having played last year at the team event. She plays in the singles and in the Women’s Doubles, alongside Tia Yu.

Pashley, who won the Cleveland Junior 4* as part of her build-up, said: “It’s obviously my first European Senior singles. I played the Teams last year and that was really good. I’m really looking forward to seeing what it’s like and getting out there and playing.”

Pashley and Yu will start in the qualifying rounds of the Women’s Singles, while Ho is seeded into the main draw.

In the Men’s Singles, Jarvis is seeded into the main draw and he said: “These are the events you train for, so I’m really looking forward to it.

“I feel in good shape. The Europeans is so strong now, I think it’s one of the strongest continents, so I’m sure I’ll be playing against some of the best players in the world and I’m excited to test myself against this level.”

The task for Pitchford, Walker and Green is to get through qualifying and join Jarvis in the main draw, and Pitchford said: “I think I’m playing well enough to get through qualifying, but I’ve got to be focused – everybody can play these days, so it’ll be tough matches, but I’m looking forward to challenging myself again.

“I’m enjoying being back and seeing what I can do. I don’t really have that much expectation at the moment and every match that I get under my belt is positive.”

As well as Pashley & Yu’s place in the Women’s Doubles, Ho will partner Wales’ Anna Hursey. Alongside Pitchford & Walker, Jarvis & Green also form another Men’s Doubles combination, having had some success in their fledgling partnership, including reaching the semi-finals of the WTT Star Contender London last October.

The Mixed pairings are Green & Ho, now a well-established pair performing well on the world stage, and Walker & Yu.