COVID-19: English Premier League Speaks On Restarting Games In June

The English Premier League ‘s chief executive, Richard Masters, has disclosed that he is as confident as he could be about restarting the EPL in June.

England’s top tier game was postponed indefinitely on March 13 over the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, June 12 has been picked as a possible date to restart, as players are returning to training in small groups.

Asked on when restarting the Premier League, Masters revealed that the Premier League remains flexible on the date of resumption.

“There is some momentum. We’ve taken the first step,” Masters told BBC Sport.

“We wouldn’t have taken the first step to get back to training if we weren’t convinced we had created a very safe environment for our players.

“It’s great for everybody, including the fans, to see our players back on the training ground.

“It is the first step and we have to be sure when we go to contact training we have completed those processes,” he said.

Premier League: ‘We think it is safe to return’

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante will train at home because of coronavirus fears and Watford captain Troy Deeney will not return to training.

The Premier League hosted video conference calls “to provide health reassurances” to club captains and managers before training recommenced.

The league began testing players and staff for coronavirus again on Friday after six tested positives on Tuesday, a result Masters was “reassured by” given it represented less than 1% of tests.

“Our sympathies are with everybody who has tested positive,” he said. “A few of them were surprised because they were asymptomatic.”