PL restart stuff from today's Telegraph.....

Premier League restart likely to be pushed back to June 19 after players and managers convey concern

Seven-day delay to originally proposed date probable as answers sought about risks of full-contact training and playing matches

The restart of the Premier League season is expected to be pushed back by at least seven days from June 12 to June 19 after players and managers expressed their concerns that major questions needed to be answered over the risks of a return to full-contact training and games being played again.

During meetings on Wednesday both groups agreed to resume socially-distanced sessions next week and the 20 managers were presented with the safety protocol for a return to training before player representatives, in most cases captains, met with the Premier League in the afternoon.

The protocol covered just the phase one part of the return which restricts players and coaches to small groups and will be approved at Monday's Premier League meeting for a resumption on Tuesday.

There was a general consensus among most of the managers and players that they want to restart and are largely comfortable with phase one: groups of five players working with three coaches and all socially distanced. It is understood only one manager questioned outright a return to training and by the end of the meeting he was satisfied that phase one would be safe for players and coaches.

The players conference reached a broad consensus that the majority wanted to return to playing. They recognised that the risk from Covid-19 for their age profile was very low and that football could provide a very safe environment. There were some who urged greater caution.

But there remains widespread unease over what happens after that and whether or not managers and their squads are being given enough preparation time ahead of the originally proposed June 12 restart. The Premier League is listening to those concerns and is prepared to push back the resumption by at least a week.

It is understood that three of the bottom six clubs were most vocal in questioning whether it would be possible to come back, with the main problem being foreign players returning. They argued there would be difficulties in bringing back players who had travelled abroad to be with their families while training grounds are closed and the UK is locked down. Also raised was the problem of motivating those players to return to complete the final games of the season.

Boris Johnson outlined on Sunday there would be restrictions imposed on people coming into the country, to help prevent Covid-19 being brought in from overseas, although there was no start date revealed. Some clubs have already asked players to return to be ready for training.
Safety concerns over families were also raised, with some players living with extended families who would be at risk should they become infected.

A number of managers have publicly stated that their squads will require three to four weeks of full training before players can be expected to restart the season without the threat of serious and widespread injuries.

Phase one cannot start until next Tuesday, which means contact training, phase two of the return which has still not been given government approval, cannot start before May 25, less than three weeks before the June 12 date the Premier League had been working towards but now accepts probably needs to be delayed.

The Premier Leagues medical officer, Mark Gillett, and Professor James Calder, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and independent chair of the Chief Medical Officers consultancy group, ran through the safety protocols for next weeks phase one training return. Phase two protocols are due to be presented in the next seven days, but the lack of information over what will happen after the first week back in restricted group training has left managers and players concerned for their safety.

The directive to turn away when getting up from a tackle, as first reported by Telegraph Sport, is rated as unworkable both in training situations and particularly in games, with players wanting assurances that they can safely tackle face-to-face.

There are also concerns that attempting to limit contact in training could result in injuries if and when games resume because players will not be properly prepared for the physical demands of a match with relegation and European qualification at stake. While managers and players are preparing to return to restricted group training next week, many believe there are still significant hurdles to get past before squads can seriously start to prepare for a restart, with the level of treatment players will be able to receive after the first week another question that has yet to be answered.

While the phase one protocols should be approved at next Mondays Premier League meeting, there are fears that a vote on the restart will not be able to take place with so much still to sort out. Uefa has confirmed that the League could be granted an extension to the May 25 deadline to agree on a restart date and format for completing games.

A statement from Uefa said: "Uefa would like as much as possible to receive such information by 25 May but we understand that detailed plans might not be fully available by then due to a variety of external constraints. Uefa would nevertheless expect to at least receive some indications as to the potential way forward envisaged by national associations and leagues by that date."

Players will start to be tested for coronavirus on Thursday ahead of next Tuesdays planned return to phase one training, when footballs, boots and even goalkeeping gloves will be disinfected during breaks in sessions. Players will be asked to arrive at the training ground, at designated times, 15 minutes before their training session. They will then work in small groups on no more than five players including a goalkeeper and three members of a clubs staff and will have to remain on one pitch and not move from that area.

Social distancing staying two metres apart will be observed with clubs told to limit the work they do to simple exercises such as crossing, shooting and passing. There will be no direct contact whatsoever between the players which means no tackling, no opposed activity of any kind and trying to avoid being in congested areas. Goalkeepers can work one-on-one with their coaches. The sessions will last for no more than 75 minutes with all the equipment corner flags, cones, goalposts, GPS units disinfected before and after. In fact the guidelines even encourage staff to disinfect everything "where possible during natural breaks in play" and this will include the players boots and the gloves worn by the goalkeeper.

After the session the players will have 15 more minutes to carry out essential recovery/therapies before having to leave the training ground on their own in vehicles which they have to guarantee they will clean regularly. No member of staff will be allowed to travel by public transport with clubs told to keep to a bare minimum the number of people at the training ground which includes players.

Managers and coaches were told that they cannot meet face-to-face and have to organise their training sessions and planning and tactical meetings via videoconference and must also vacate the training ground as soon as possible during this first phase.

Posted By: Karnivore, May 14, 09:53:11