Daily Times

The results from the first round of Covid-19 testing among Championship players is set to be published on Sunday.

Second-tier clubs are set to start small group training from Monday amid the coronavirus pandemic, after players underwent initial tests on Thursday and Friday.

The English Football League will publish how many tests were conducted, and the number of positive tests, if any.

Championship clubs’ testing procedures will be done in a combination of ways – some by independent testers, some by club medical staff and some will ask players to self-test.

The EFL says the accuracy of the tests meet Government guidelines. Championship clubs as a group have indicated a desire to complete the 2019-20 season and will be hoping to resume the campaign at some point next month ideally with a view to finishing it by July 31.

League One and Two players have not been tested and therefore cannot return to training on Monday.

There is disagreement among League One clubs over whether to play on or curtail the season, and Tranmere have threatened legal action if they are relegated on a points-per-game basis.

Rovers are third-bottom of League One – three points behind AFC Wimbledon and safety with a game in hand.

Chairman Mark Palios, a former FA chief executive, criticised the EFL’s statement on settling the season if clubs vote to stop play.

Palios told talkSPORT: “The word fairness wasn’t used at all, which may be illustrative. It was disrespectful to the fans and the people who have worked hard to get us into League One from a non-league position over the last two years.

“You get that easy soundbite: oh well, it’s a coronavirus, it’s a pandemic and we can’t please everybody.

“It’s not just a change of the regulations, there are lots of other aspects that could spark a legal case. I will do everything to keep Tranmere Rovers in a division that everybody fought to get into.”

Wimbledon indicated they were ready to vote for curtailment, saying “we will not vote for any outcome that potentially endangers the health of our players and staff or puts clubs under further financial strain”.

The cost of testing was cited as one of the reasons why League Two clubs indicated a preference to curtail the campaign at their level last Friday.

The EFL has published the return-to-training (RTT) protocol, which sets out the need for tests to be conducted on a twice-weekly basis.

There is also guidance around what club staff should do when they are at the training ground, with social distancing to be maintained at all times during this phase of the return to training.

Players will have their temperature checked and be asked to complete a medical questionnaire, communal areas of training grounds such as canteens must remain closed, but clubs may open kitchens to offer players the option to take food home. The protocol recommends the introduction of a one-way system to avoid unintentional close contact, and asks all club staff to refrain from spitting.