Premier League clubs are telling their players to treat the next few weeks as their off-season, ahead of a return to squad training at the end of May.

The Daily Mail report that Premier League players are being told to scale back their current workout routines until May 4th. The plan isn’t to return to squad training until the end of May, so they’re meant to treat the next few weeks as their off-season.

The plan is then to start building fitness throughout May. Presumably, matches will restart in June, and once the season ends in July, there will only be a short break to the start of the new campaign in August.

Clubs are also telling their players not to leave the country. This is just common sense, given the current situation. Those who do get special permission to go abroad need to be ready to return within 48 hours of any change in the plans.

At the very least, this all means another month and a half without football. Probably another two months minimum, if we’re being realistic. The upside is that we may be in for a lot of football when it finally does come back.