Newcastle United and their Premier League rivals could be facing a quarantine lockdown in a sectioned off hotel in June as top-flight chiefs attempt to get the season completed.
The Premier League will meet again this week to thrash out plans to finally finish the 2019/20 campaign after admitting on Friday they face some "difficult decisions".
With most teams stuck on 29 matches - after no games for three weeks now - one of the ideas on the table is to condense the remainder of the season into a behind-closed-doors contest at grounds in Birmingham and London.
Newcastle's squad would stay in a private hotel to keep the risk of infection low and the Premier League would aim to get games played by June or mid-July.
Concerns over placing strain on the NHS do exist within club boardrooms, but one hope is that the virus pandemic has eased somewhat by the summer.
Public pressure to scrap the season has been building in recent days on moral grounds but as it stands Newcastle and other clubs would face a huge bill if the competition is canned.
TV money for the remaining games would have to be paid back in the event of cancellation.
Yet players - like the general public - are deeply concerned about the level of crisis in the UK.
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles said: "We know it is an uncertain time for everybody at the moment.
"We are all missing football."
Matt Ritchie added: "If you are staying at home you are doing the right thing."
Club doctor Paul Catterson said last week: "I have picked up that there is a bit of anxiety around the group.
"I think that is centred around the fact the players are away from home and away from their families.
"We have a few things in place.
"They are normal human beings at the end of the day."
