Premier League clubs to vote on resuming training

Premier League clubs will vote on a return to training on Monday after Eva Carneiro warned against rushing back to action amid the coronavirus crisis.

English football has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but 'Project Restart' is under way and shareholders will discuss the next steps in a conference call.

The focus of Monday's meeting is set to be the vote on Premier League clubs' return to training this week, starting with phase one of socially-distanced, small-group sessions.

The PA news agency understands around half of the league's clubs underwent Covid-19 tests on Sunday ahead of a potential return to training, with the rest due to be checked on Monday morning.

Sides could be training as early as Tuesday if the vote passes, with the Premier League planning to test players twice a week, with 40 tests per session, as part of their plans to make a safe return to action.

It is understood the 1 600 weekly tests will be led by Prenetics as part of the 'Project Screen by Circle' initiative, with The Doctors Laboratory processing the tests - as they have been in the Bundesliga.

The German top-flight became the first major league to return to action over the weekend, but former Chelsea doctor Carneiro has warned football authorities against making a hasty return.

"My message to them is we cannot talk about returning to full-time competition when we haven't even delivered phase one," she told The Times.

"We need to learn and adapt from phase one first and I'm most concerned that the guidance does not consider the culture of football and the lack of existing medical governance."

Carneiro added: "Football is high stakes but we need to lose this fear of upsetting individual entities in this Covid crisis.

"We need to spread understanding that this is bigger than any single club, manager or player wanting to return.

"There are wider health implications. We are talking about loss of life."

- TEAMtalk media