Football news - What's next for Project Restart? And when will Premier League return?

ByThe Editorial Team

Updated 27/05/2020 at 20:33 GMT

The Premier League looks to be moving closer to a return after contact training was approved on Wednesday, but what are the next steps, what happens if there are more positive tests and how are players and managers reacting? James Walker-Roberts takes a look...

Project Restart moves into Stage Two

Premier League clubs voted unanimously on Wednesday to return to contact training, including tackling, as they moved closer to restarting the season, and moved into Stage Two of the process.

But what exactly is Stage Two? It forms part of the guidelines set out by the UK government on how teams and elite athletes can return to contact training.

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“Stage two training can be described as the resumption of close contract (interaction within the two-metre social distancing boundary) training where pairs, small groups and/or teams will be able to interact in much closer contact.”

Having started training in small groups earlier this month, teams are now going to progress to full team training, using a staged approach.

The government says: “It is anticipated that engaging in this type of training would start with smaller ‘clusters’ of 2-3 athletes and eventually progress to larger groups of 4-12 athletes, and ultimately full team training, without social distancing possible at all times.”

While there will be contact during training and players will be able to tackle, there will still be social distancing rules at other times. Government advice also suggests close contact should still be limited, so sessions could be restricted in length.

There is no mention of the next step in the government guidelines, but it could be a move to a more typical form of training in the build-up to actual games.

The Bundesliga resumed 40 days after teams returned to training in small groups, and nine days after teams started full-contact training.

When will the Premier League return?

That’s still the big unanswered question.

Teams have been training for nearly two weeks and there have been three rounds of coronavirus testing for players and staff, with 12 positive results from 2,752 tests.

If the Premier League followed the Bundesliga timeline (40 days from training returning to the first game back) then it would restart on June 28.

The Bundesliga has played three rounds of matches since resumption, and has seen socially-distanced celebrations

Image credit: Getty Images

But the restart date will be discussed – along with other matters - when Premier League clubs meet again on Thursday.

There have reportedly been concerns raised over the potential return date of June 12 and whether it is too soon, but Gary Neville doesn’t believe players will need much longer to get back to full fitness.

"Two or three weeks on top of the fitness work they've been doing at home feels about right," the former Manchester United defender told Sky Sports. "June 12 feels a touch early but there's no reason to go beyond June 19 for a restart. I don't see players' fitness being a concern - I don't see them needing four or five weeks."

When the league does return there will be 92 matches to play – and plenty of those could reportedly be available to watch on TV.

According to the Daily Mirror there are suggestions of five matches back-to-back on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as potentially two games per night kicking off at 6pm and 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

There’s also the FA Cup – which is at the quarter-final stage – and European competitions to fit in somewhere.

How are players and managers feeling at this stage?

The general reaction seems to be an eagerness for the Premier League to return.

Luke Shaw told the club website that Manchester United players feel "really safe" and are “all very excited” about a return to full training while Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho seems keen to get back on the sideline.

“Honestly, since the moment Bundesliga started, the Portuguese league and Spanish league announced a date to start, I think it is the most difficult moment for us, because we want to play," he told Sky Sports.

A coronavirus testing station at West Ham's training ground

Image credit: Getty Images

"It is hard to see other countries playing football and we don't do it."

But there have also been concerns about playing again.

Danny Rose has been a vocal critic of the plans while Watford captain Troy Deeney has not returned to training due to health concerns - although he says he is likely to be back soon - and Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has also decided not to train.

Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero said about Kante’s decision: “We did a lot of Zoom meetings with Frank Lampard and the other players and he said he didn’t feel safe going back to training because of the way he had felt over the last few weeks.”

What if there are more positive tests?

The 12 players and staff members that have tested positive so far have been required to self-isolate for seven days.

That rule will continue going forward and Premier League players and staff will continue to be tested twice a week for coronavirus. The capacity of testing will also be increased from 50 to 60 tests per club for the fourth round of testing.

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