Confirmed: West Brom and Leeds United learn huge promotion update
The Championship's top two are desperate to resume the season and win promotion to the Premier League
by Alex Dicken, https://www.facebook.com/alexdickenjournalist/?fref=tsWest Bromwich Albion and Leeds United's return to action has moved ever closer after the Government updated its elite sports performance guidelines.
The Championship's top two - who hold a healthy points advantage on the teams chasing them - are desperate to resume the season and win promotion to the Premier League.
And it looks as though they will get that chance with Stage Two of the Government's guidelines allowing players to return to close-contact and competitive training in preparation for matches.
The new guidelines state: "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."
West Brom latest
The EFL confirmed on Sunday that two people had returned positive coronavirus tests from 1,014 carried out across the Championship's clubs.
Championship players are poised to return to socially distanced training sessions today but the Government's latest update is set to accelerate the restart.
A target return date of June 20 has been mooted for EFL clubs, with the Premier League's ambition to resume by June 12.