Premier League clubs are expected to vote for the introduction of phase two of training on Wednesday.
The Uk government has given the league approval to progress to the next stage of Project Restart, enabling competitive and contact training, including tackling.
Players and managers will have the opportunity to debate any remaining concerns over phase two when they hold separate video calls with the Premier League this Tuesday.
On Wednesday, clubs will then vote on whether or not to move to the second stage of training, which could be introduced at training grounds before the end of this week.
Several clubs though are raising concerns over what is going to happen if a player tests positive once full contact training is reintroduced. In particular, there are worries over whether team-mates could also be isolated for up to 2 weeks, sending club and league planning into chaos.
With the majority of clubs likely to vote for the introduction of phase two, the week could end with the Premier League making known the final drafts of Project Restart – and a proposed fixture list, including the date when league matches could resume.
A week of crucial meetings continues on Thursday when all other aspects of Project Restart are going to be discussed, including the league’s possible plans on relegation, the issue of the use of points-per-game – and the award of the Premier League title, if the season has to be called off. Also a proposal to use ‘neutral venues’ will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting.
The make-shift model could see the majority of games held at home grounds, while a couple of rivalry matches could be moved to neutral venues, to prevent the possibility of large groups of fans congregating outside the stadium.
Jamie Redknapp, after the government released guidance on progressing to the next phase said – “It’s a huge week, with what’s happened in Germany, I’ve got no doubt the vote will go ahead and the clubs will vote to try to get phase two going, which is obviously important.”
“I also think there’ll be a situation where more players will opt out, which is their prerogative, but with the success in Germany – it’s not been great, it’s not the product we really like, with no fans there, but at least it’s football – I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t go ahead.”
