EFL clubs will not return to training until at least May 25 with restart unlikely until mid-June

EFL clubs will not return to training until at least May 25, with competitive fixtures unlikely to resume until the middle of June.

It had been hoped that clubs would return to training next week, but that date has been pushed back after a meeting of the EFL board on Wednesday.

Standard Sport understands it was also agreed that clubs would need three weeks of training to get players ready for the season’s resumption, leaving the week beginning June 15 as the likely restart date.

Players are expected to be tested for coronavirus twice each week, both during the mini-preseason period and once matches start, with the total time frame needed to complete the season around nine weeks.

A statement from the EFL warned the challenges posed by the coronavirus shutdown “will not be rectified simply by a return to play behind closed doors”, but said it was “mindful of the pressing need for clarity in a number of areas, including the practicalities and timeframes of clubs being able to facilitate a return to training.”

The statement read: “Clubs have today been issued with the latest draft of the EFL’s ‘Return to Training Protocols’, so that they can prepare appropriately.

“However, until all outstanding matters are concluded, including finalising a comprehensive testing programme on matchdays and non-matchdays, the EFL Board has informed its Clubs that a return to training should not take place until 25 May at the earliest.”