At the moment, the Premier League clubs are all gearing up to restart the remaining games from the middle of June. Arsenal opened their training ground for individual training slots a couple of weeks ago, but now it looks like they are going to move to the next stage of training in groups of 5 to try and get ready for the restart.
It should certainly be interesting as according to Sky, each player has been given a 40-page document on training protocols they have to study to keep each other safe. Here are a few highlights from the Sky report: “… players will drive to training in their kit, alone in their cars. Their temperature will be checked at the entrance to the training ground. They will park in a designated space, three spaces away from anyone else.
They will train in a group of five for a maximum of 75 minutes. They will be encouraged to wear a mask or snood. No tackling or spitting will be permitted. Everything will be disinfected, including the ball, pitch, goalposts, cones, and other training equipment.
Players must maintain social distancing at all times. If players are injured, they will be treated by a physio wearing PPE, which at a minimum must include a mask, gloves and an apron. After training, players will drive straight home.
They are all going to be tested twice a week, and if all this goes well then they will wait for the go-ahead to return to full training with a view to our first game in the middle of June.
There is a long way to go, but the first steps are now looking in place. It will certainly to be interesting to see how the Bundesliga get on this weekend….