Injury fears loom over restart
The Premier League will return after a 100-day stoppage on June 17, cramming the remaining 92 games of the season into just five-and-a-half weeks.
A deluge of football may be welcomed by fans starved of live action for three months. But it is expected to take a heavy toll on players hit by the combination of a long layoff, little training and fixture congestion.
"We are expecting more injuries at this time," Newcastle doctor Paul Catterson told BBC. "We have had players asking if they can have ice baths after training and they can't -- all we can do is give them ice to take home. It's like going back 15 years."
The injury risk is of particular concern for players who are out of contract at the end of the season.
Championship side Charlton will be without top scorer Lyle Taylor as the 30-year-old has decided not to play and put a lucrative move at risk.
"It makes me think what would happen if I had an injury now that threatened the rest of my career," Taylor told Sky. "I'll be honest with you, it scared the life out of me."
However, the lesson from Germany's Bundesliga, which returned on May 16, is that an increase in injuries is inevitable.
According to sports science specialist Joel Mason, Bundesliga injuries went from a pre-lockdown average of 0.27 per game to 0.88 in the first round of fixtures after the competition resumed.
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