Wales aces stepping up return to action
FOOTBALL has been postponed on these shores for more than two months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, things have gradually eased closer to normality in recent days and weeks.
The 2019/20 Bundesliga campaign resumed earlier this month while Premier League and Championship clubs are back training ahead of a potential return to action in June.
In Spain, Gareth Bale and his Real Madrid team mates have been put through their paces at the club’s Valdebebas complex for most of May, with La Liga expected to resume in the second week of June.
Aaron Ramsey has been doing the same with Juventus as the Serie A campaign appears to edge closer to being re-started. Lockdown has clearly had an impact on some, with former Arsenal man Ramsey’s usually slick hairdo looking somewhat bushier than usual. But the return to training comes as a major boost as players edge ever closer to doing the business on the pitch once again.
It comes as all 20 Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to resume contact training on Wednesday.
The news will no doubt provide encouragement to those hoping for the current campaign to be concluded, with the second tier likely to follow suit in resuming full contact training in the near future. Despite Wales still being in lockdown, Cardiff City and Swansea City were given the green light by the Welsh Government to resume training this week in line with the 22 English sides in the Championship.
Aside from centre-back Mike van der Hoorn, Steve Cooper’s first team squad are all back in action at Fairwood while further east up the M4, Neil Harris’ side are being through their paces at the Vale once again.
Cardiff are currently ninth in the
Championship, two places above the Swans, with nine matches left to play.
Given that the German system was the first major league structure in Europe to re-start, Wales duo James Lawrence and Rabbi Matondo have been in training since April.
Winger Matondo has featured for Schalke against Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg in recent weeks while defender Lawrence has played in St. Pauli’s fixtures with Nurnberg and Darmstadt 98.
All matches have been played behind closed doors thus far, and that will also be the case in England and Wales if and when they get the go ahead to continue.