Manchester United and Man City given huge Premier League restart indication

Both Man City and Manchester United will vote on implementing phase two of Project Restart when Premier League clubs meet this week

The Premier League’s Project Restart has received a huge boost after the government released its “phase two” guidance for athletes and elite sportsmen and women.

This next stage will enable footballers to return to close-contact and competitive training, provided it has the "appropriate carefully controlled medical conditions in place".

Both public health officials and sports medical officers have contributed to the guidelines, with “stage three” of the government's protocols expected to centre around a return to action in June.

The new guidelines state that: "Stage Two training can be described as the resumption of close contact (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 (e.g. close quarters coaching, combat sports sparring, teams sports tackling, technical equipment sharing, etc)."

"This new guidance marks the latest phase of a carefully phased return to training process for elite athletes, designed to limit the risk of injury and protect the health and safety of all involved,” sports minister Nigel Huddleston said.

"We are absolutely clear that individual sports must review whether they have the appropriate carefully controlled medical conditions in place before they can proceed, and secure the confidence of athletes, coaches and support staff.

"Given the wide-ranging input we have received from medical experts, we believe these pragmatic measures should provide further reassurance that a safe, competitive training environment can be delivered, as we work towards a restart of professional sport behind closed doors when it is safe to do so."

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The Premier League confirmed on Saturday night that two more people have tested positive for coronavirus after the second round of testing.

Players and staff at Premier League clubs received their results on Saturday after tests were carried out at training grounds up and down the country from Tuesday to Friday.

In total, 996 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19 in the second round, with the number of tests available to clubs increasing from 40 to 50 from the first batch of testing.

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And now Premier League clubs will vote on implementing phase two of Project Restart when they meet this week.

Clubs in the top flight voted unanimously last Monday in favour of a return to socially distanced training, phase one of Project Restart.

Players have since been allowed to work together, maintaining a two-metre distance at all times, in groups of five for 75-minute sessions.

And now protocols for a return to full-contact training, according to a source close to the Premier League, will be voted on by shareholders at their meeting on Wednesday.