Real Madrid's return to work in Valdebebas plagued by doubts
The club has yet to finalise a detailed plan of how players from the football and basketball sections can safely return to the training ground.
The decisions taken by the Spanish government regarding the plan to stagger the return of professional sport in Spain hasn't eased any of the doubts about how it will be put into practice - at least that is how Real Madrid feel about it. Madrid think that logistically, resuming work require a more detailed plan, and that is what they expect to have set up for the moment when their players, from the football and basketball sections, are due back at the training ground.
The doubts start right from the proposed Phase 0, which is due to get underway on Monday 4 May and will permit "individual training for professionals and associate members. And basic training for professional leagues". At Real Madrid, no one is sure if the individual training sessions would involve only a reduced group of players who would be allowed exercise, nor is it clear what distance players and coaching staff would have to maintain out on the practice pitch - or whether they means several sessions spaced out over a period of time. Even Zidane doesn't know what the term "basic training" implies.
More doubts emerge in the proposal for Phase I, which mentions "the opening of high-performance centres under strict hygiene and protective measures and where possible, taking turns". It also indicates the start of "medium level training in professional leagues". Would Madrid's Valdebebas training complex come under the category of a high performance training centre? And as for "medium level training", the intensity of the workout is not mentioned - or the number of people who are allowed to take part at the same time.
LaLiga or CSD to conduct testing?
And then there is the issue of the famous serology-based testing which enable players to exercise safe in the knowledge that they arenot carrying the Covid-19 virus. Just a few days ago, it looked certain that LaLiga would be in charge of testing players two or three days before training was set to resume. But now, it's not clear if running the tests will be responsibility of the Sports Council, rather than LaLiga. .
Sergio Ramos explained the players' position on the matter to Realmadrid TV: "We cannot wait to get back playing again but we can't do that until the Health Ministry tells us that there is no risk". In the meantime, the club hopes that some of the issues that aren't clear will be settled when the Sports Council meet later this week.