Gary Neville has said that the Premier League should restart the league no later than June 19, as players will only need “two or three weeks” of training to prepare.
The Premier League’s ‘Project Restart’ has accelerated this week, with players set to vote on a return to contact training today.
The Premier League has long targeted a June 12 remains restart date, although some clubs reportedly see June 26 as more realistic, because of fears players could suffer muscular injuries if they rush back into action too soon.
But Neville has said it shouldn’t take players too long to get back up to speed.
“Two or three weeks on top of the fitness work they’ve been doing at home feels about right. June 12 feels a touch early but there’s no reason to go beyond June 19 for a restart,” he told Sky Sports.
“I don’t see players’ fitness being a concern – I don’t see them needing four or five weeks. Even when they’ve had six weeks off for pre-season, within 10 days of going back in they’d be playing games again in pre-season.
“They wouldn’t be 100 per cent fit but these are uncharted times. I wouldn’t expect the players to be absolutely perfect. I feel two to three weeks is about right to get them back playing again.
“We’re constantly told throughout the season that players are overworked, play too many matches. What we can’t have is a situation where the players have had an eight-week break to then say they need six weeks of training to get back to fitness. That doesn’t feel right.
“If Harry Kane was borderline fit for the European Championships and was going to be back two weeks before the tournament, he’d be saying he was fit and ready to go. I don’t see the difference with this situation.
“If this was a major cup final or league game, and a player had been out for eight weeks with an injury and he only had 10 days of training, he’d be fighting to get into that squad. I don’t buy into the need for an extended period of time.”
