Coronavirus: Most players scared of returning to EPL – Aguero

Sergio Aguero says “the majority of players are scared” by the prospect of returning to football too soon amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier League clubs remain determined to finish the 2019/20 campaign and are due to receive ‘Project Restart’ proposals at a meeting on Friday about how the season could resume as early as June 8.

Agüero, 31, has been spending lockdown in his Cheshire home, but could return to training in the next couple of weeks.

“The majority of players are scared because they have family, they have children, they have babies, parents,” Aguero told Spanish TV programme El Chiringuito.

“It does scare me but I have just been here with my girlfriend, I haven’t had contact with other people and they say that to contract the disease is very rare and difficult but they say that there are people who have it, and they don’t have symptoms and they can infect you.

“That’s why I’ve stayed at home. You can be infected and you don’t know anything about it.”

Manchester City’s training complex at the Etihad remains closed with players fulfilling individual programmes.

Foreign players and managers returning to England are likely to be asked to self-isolate as part of steps to curb the spread of the virus.

Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Ederson, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and David Silva are among those to have left the country during the lockdown.

Proposals have been drafted by Premier League director of football Richard Garlick but a return to training will only happen with the agreement of the government.

Plans include testing all players and officials 48 hours before returning to training and they will also be tested for potential respiratory problems associated with coronavirus. Punch