‘You can’t just go straight in’ – Man City star doesn’t want Premier League return on June 12

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As football leagues across Europe gear up to try and be able to play the final few games of their respective 2019/20 seasons, one Manchester City star has expressed a preference not to start again on June 12.

The Premier League are already behind their Bundesliga counterparts, who began their seasons again behind closed doors this weekend, however, Raheem Sterling believes that players in England need at least a month to get their match fitness back.

“You can’t come back in with one-and-a-half or two weeks (of training),” Sterling said in an interview with US women’s captain Megan Rapinoe on his YouTube channel, cited by talkSPORT.

“You’d need a full four to five weeks, especially if you’re going to go back into competition, when you’re literally paid to win. You do need to do that preparation – you can’t just go straight in.”

Let’s not forget too that the threat of the coronavirus is surely still very much at the forefront of many player’s minds, and the thought of not playing at all is arguably one that some players will prefer to adopt.

There appears to be a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the pandemic at this point, with football players appearing to be being used as ‘guinea pigs’ to an extent.

Even if the various tests do allow for the season to be completed, Sterling certainly has a point in terms of timing. If everyone has waited this long, then a few more weeks won’t matter.

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