Premier League CEO Richard Masters has given some more details about a possible restart date for games, after clubs agreed unanimously to return to small-group training at a vote held on Monday.
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All 20 clubs agreed to the return in the latest shareholders video conference call, as a vital step in the 2019-20 Premier League returning was confirmed. Reports have stated that a possible June 12 restart date for Premier League games could be pushed back by a few weeks in order to give players ample time to regain full fitness.
Masters told the media on a call that a return date is flexible and nothing is set in stone as a return to contact training has yet to be agreed.
“It was a staging post; it wasn’t a firm commitment and what we don’t want to do is continue to move it around. We know there’s a discussion to be had, it really depends on when we can start full contact training,” Masters said.
Contact training will not return at this point but Masters also revealed that talks over that plan will begin next week as the Premier League, medical experts and the government work on a plan to get back to action. However, this latest statement buys the PL some time to plan things out as UEFA have also seem to have relaxed their May 25 deadline about leagues having to let them know their plans.
Masters also confirmed that the results from the first batch of Covid-19 testing for players, which happened over the weekend, will be available from Tuesday at 2 p.m. UK time.
The return to training will take place from Tuesday, as groups of five players at a time will take part in sessions while observing social-distancing and strict medical protocols will be in place at all Premier League training grounds.
This is a big step forward, as players will return to training grounds together for the first time since the Premier League was suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next step is even bigger and only when contact training resumes can teams contemplate a return to games.