Sassuolo have become the first Serie A club to announce a return to training in a positive step towards the resumption of Italy’s top flight amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Italy’s Serie A has been suspended since mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak which has hit the country hard, with almost 210,000 cases and 28,710 deaths.
On Friday, all 20 Serie A clubs held a video conference call where they voted to complete the 2019-20 season, which still has 12 rounds of fixtures to play.
The decision came following the recent abandonments of the French Ligue 1 and Dutch Eredivisie, while Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League remain hopeful of completing their 2019-20 fixtures.
Sassuolo, who are based in Emilia-Romagna in Italy’s north east, became the first club to announce a return to training, albeit restricted, following a region decree permitting such athletes in team sports to take part in training sessions on an individual basis from May 4.
A Sassuolo statement read: “Players will only be allowed access to the pitches in compliance with rules of social distancing, while access to the Sports Center (locker rooms, gyms, offices) will be prohibited.
“The individual sessions, which will take place during the mornings from Monday to Friday, with the use of three fields, with six players per hour (one player for each half of the pitch), will not be attended by the technical staff, while an emergency health supervision will be guaranteed.”
Bologna, SPAL and Parma are also based in the region which has had more than 25,000 cases.
Bologna have also announced a return for club activities, while the remainder of Serie A clubs will likely have to wait until May 18 when the Italian government’s lockdown measures are likely to be eased.
Juventus are top of Serie A, holding a one-point advantage over second-placed Lazio with 12 games to play.
