Tackling will be banned, pitches disinfected and players restricted to groups of five when the Premier League starts a first phase of team training. Official protocols sent to players and managers on Tuesday and obtained by the BBC reveal that social distancing must be “strictly observed”.

Corner-flags, balls, cones, goalposts and even playing surfaces will be disinfected after each session. League bosses hope training can begin on Monday, restricted to 75 minutes. Ongoing surveillance measures included in further guidance include twice-weekly testing, and a daily pre-training questionnaire and temperature check.

Under a section titled ‘health screening’, players are also told a central register of Covid-19 test results (subject to their consent and Professional Footballers’ Association agreement) will need to be maintained.

They are also informed that “although Covid-19 will lead to minor illness in the majority, there are additional aspects of this infection that must be considered prior to players resuming high-intensity or high-volume exercise”.