The 22-year-old is having his first summer off in three years, and has pledged to come back stronger than ever.

Taylor is unused to putting his feet up, having been in England Under-21 action, along with team-mate James Milner, for the past two close seasons.

And he hopes the rest will allow him to finally get over a niggling ankle problem, which has not been able to heal properly because of the constant football for club and country.

"Last summer I had a long week off, and then I was back into pre-season," Taylor told the Gazette.

"It'll be nice to get six weeks off. There's no football over the summer, so I can relax. I can come back fresh and ready for next season.

"You get little niggles. You can carry on, but unfortunately for me, I got my ankle injury at the start of the season.

"It's been all right ever since. I haven't had any problems, touch wood."

Taylor's longest spell out injured came after he dislocated his shoulder while on international duty.

He added: "The shoulder's OK. I always seem to fall on that side now.

"I've got to keep working on it, and for the rest of my career I'll be doing that."

As for the Under-21s, Taylor and Milner were left out of Stuart Pearce's squad for last night's 2-0 friendly win against Wales at Wrexham to allow them the maximum break possible.

However, they will be back for the crucial final European Championship qualifier against Portugal in September.

Taylor said: "We've got some massive games coming up, and he wants to have a look at some other players.

"We've got Portugal in September. It's the last qualifier, and we can win the group."

Meanwhile, Taylor is waiting on an improved contract offer from Newcastle after his agent met vice-president Tony Jimenez in London a week ago.

There has been no progress since Taylor – who has one year left on his contract – turned down a new five-year deal, which would have still left him among United's lowest earners, last August.

With the club's hierarchy keen to trim the wage bill, there are fears the dispute could drag on.