Confirmed: Aston Villa's Premier League return set to be accelerated

Aston Villa news - Dean Smith and his players returned to Bodymoor Heath training ground last week

Aston Villa could soon return to Premier League action after the Government updated its elite sports performance guidelines.

Stage Two has now been introduced which will allow players 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 Premier League has of course set a target return date of June 12, while the Championship also hopes to restart its season in June.

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."

Villa, 19th in the table, have 10 games remaining to save themselves from relegation and are understandably keen to avoid any points-per-game scenarios.

Aston Villa latest

• HENDRIE'S STORY
• BACK IN TRAINING
• LOCKDOWN SURVEY
• FREE TO YOUR INBOX

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

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.

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

Aston Villa daily newsletter. Free. To your inbox

There's a quick and easy way to stay on top of all the Aston Villa news with our daily newsletter.

Delivered straight into your email inbox each day, the bulletins will feature the latest Villa news, views, gossip and opinion.

All you have to do is punch your email in at the top of the article - it looks just like this...

And what's more, it's absolutely free!

You can also get all the latest updates by following us on social media here Facebook and Twitter.

We also have a free app which you can download. It is always up-to-date with the latest news from across the region. Google Play Store and App Store

Clubs in 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 minutes per session.

And now protocols for a return to full-contact training are set to be put to the Premier League and its partners in their next meeting later this week.