Tom Cleverley has warned that phase two of the Premier League’s Project Restart could spark another spike in coronavirus cases as English football looks for progress in its bid to return. Former Aston Villa loanee Cleverley, now at top-flight relegation rivals Watford, has been like every other professional footballer in recent months – keeping fit in isolation with no certainty in how the current season might be completed. And as the league looks to take the plunge and permit the stepping up of the respective training regimes of the 20 clubs after a series of testing on players and staff, Cleverley is very wary that another rush of positive cases is a real possibility.
Tom Cleverly said: “Phase one is as safe as going to the supermarket. But in phase two, you could be rubbing shoulders with 15, 20 guys on the same day. So if we get into phase two and there’s a sudden spike in positive cases, that puts the whole thing in jeopardy. Let’s wait for the information and the schedule on phase two and see if the players are happy with it.”