As Italy prepares to enter ‘Phase 2’ of its battle against coronavirus – which has been dubbed ‘learning to live with the virus’ at least in the short term – Serie A clubs have started to prepare their plans to return to training ahead of a potential restart for the season.
Whilst there is no confirmation that the top flight of Italian football will return soon – and in fact plenty of voices in opposition of a rushed restart – it has not stopped the clubs (including Lazio) from planning out how to best train whilst obeying the social distancing measures in place to halt the spread of the virus.
Initially, it was suggested that the Biancocelesti planned to commence training in Formello as soon as possible, with players working in small groups of 4-5 and each man at least 10 meters apart from one another. However, officials in Italy have stated that sports centers, such as Formello, will not be allowed to re-open until the 18th of May at the very earliest. Despite this, the date for parks and public green spaces to open up again has been revealed as the 4th of May.
As has been reported by Rome based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, Lazio has drafted up an alternative plan, in order to return to training as soon as possible, by preparing to train in parks and other public areas from the 4th of May. This being said, it will likely be touch and go up to the date, with the Italian government prepared to reinforce lockdown measures if new cases of coronavirus appear in the coming days. Likewise, Lazio may see it sensible to wait until the sports centers open again to resume training, rather than rushing the team back and putting them at risk.
