Premier League: Two positive at two clubs in latest coronavirus tests

Author: BBC Sport – Football

Two new cases of coronavirus, at two separate clubs, have been found in the latest round of Premier League tests – taking the overall total to eight.

Tests took place on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, with 996 players and club staff tested.

The first round’s results, announced on 19 May, saw six positives from three clubs of 748 players and staff tested.

That number included the positive tests of Watford’s Adrian Mariappa and Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan.

Players or club staff who have tested positive must self-isolate for a period of seven days.

For the second round of testing the number of tests available to each club was increased from 40 to 50.

Squads started non-contact training from Tuesday for the first time since the Premier League was suspended on 13 March because of the coronavirus pandemic, with 92 fixtures remaining.

Speaking on Friday, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the league was “as confident as we can be” about restarting in June.

Asked what date the Premier League was targeting for a return, Masters said it must be “flexible” and could learn from the recent resumption of Germany’s Bundesliga.

On Saturday the Spanish Prime Minister said La Liga can resume behind closed doors from 8 June.

Players quiz government on BAME risks

Watford captain Troy Deeney and former Arsenal striker Ian Wright were among those who quizzed government officials on Friday about the added dangers that coronavirus might pose towards black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) players.

The Office for National Statistics says black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die from coronavirus as white people in England and Wales.

Hornets forward Deeney and Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante opted to stay away from club training this week as a precaution.

In a “frank and open” online meeting, medical experts, including deputy chief medical offer Jonathan Van-Tam, were asked to quantify risks.

Deeney and Wright, who were also joined in the online forum by former Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi and former Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo, were told that the risk among young and healthy footballers was low.

But concerns were also raised about passing the infection on to family members.

The Professional Footballers’ Association, which was also in attendance, has asked for more research to be conducted into the issue.