As the Premier League gear up for a return to action once the right protocols are in place, another high-profile player has warned that achieving the same might not be as easy as it sounds.
Manchester City star, Raheem Sterling, took to his YouTube channel, cited by the Daily Star, to voice his concerns.
“The moment we do go back it just needs to be a moment where it’s not just for footballing reasons, it’s safe for not just us footballers but the whole medical staff and referees,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“I don’t know how that’s going to work, but I feel like once that side of the people’s safety and the player’s safety is secured and their wellbeing is looked after then that’s the right time to go back in.”
Clearly, the issue of player safety is paramount, and unless that can be guaranteed, then arguably the powers that be shouldn’t even be considering a date to play matches.
The money that is being lost whilst games are not taking place would appear to be the driver in forcing the issue, however, the Premier League cannot afford a scenario where one of their players develops an illness because of their willingness to get teams back out on the pitch.
Sterling is by no means the only one to be reticent to pull on the shirt again either, with Danny Rose taking to his Instagram Live, detailed by the Evening Standard, to rubbish the Government’s latest advice.