FC Barcelona Ready For First Day Back In Training

Almost a full eight weeks since last gracing the Ciutat Esportiva center, FC Barcelona’s players are ready to return for their first training sessions since the outbreak of COVID-19.

On March 13, the Catalan club suspended all activity for its sporting outfits, which included the men’s soccer first team.

The decision was made “given the healthcare situation and according to the recommendations of the club’s medical staff,” as confirmed by a short thread on its social media accounts at the time, and “after a meeting held this morning by the team with [club president] Josep Bartomeu, Dr. Jaume Padrós, the president of the Barcelona Medical Association and the head of occupational healthcare at the Club, and Dr. Antoni Trilla, the Head of Epidemiology at Hospital Clínic.”

Ever since then, players have followed “a personalized and specific physical workout plan from their homes, supervised by the team’s trainers,” yet they will now, with Spain ready to come out lockdown in four gradual phases, show up for work again with the Ciutat Esportiva having been prepared since the start of the week.

This morning, the center will receive an official visit from a La Liga representative, who will give the green light for activities to resume there. This follows a “general cleaning and disinfection operation” that was carried out yesterday, as reports SPORT’s Albert Masnou, “in all the rooms and [on] the furniture of the [Cuitat’s] sports facilities, a process that must continue to be carried out a minimum of twice a day”. “Sufficient protection material for athletes (masks, gloves, disinfectant solutions) and for workers” has also been prepared, Masnou added.

Today, he writes, those that work closely with the players, such as the head of medical services, will be tested prior to the players being screened for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

They will be joined by Quique Setien and his staff, with all those present forced to keep a distance of three meters from one another and shower at home.

If all goes well, small groups of no more than six individuals will later be able to train together before a final phase of preparation will entail sessions of up to 14 FC Barcelona stars.

La Liga tipped for a mid-June restart, president Javier Tebas has commented that, “The return of football is a sign that society is progressing to a new normality” and “will bring back a part of life that people in Spain and around the world love.”

If the Spanish top flight can be completed by the end of July, it is hoped that Barça can finish off their last 16 clash with Napoli in the Champions League, though the logistics of continuing Europe’s elite club competition in a post-lockdown landscape appear complicated.

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