Arsenal players allowed to return to training 46 days after Mikel Arteta contracted coronavirus

Premier League was suspended after Arteta was diagnosed with Covid-19, with players set to be allowed to return to the club’s London Colney base with strict guidelines in place and a rotation schedule

Arsenal’s squad will be permitted to train at their London Colney base from Monday under carefully controlled conditions for the first time since Mikel Arteta tested positive for coronavirus.

The partial reopening of the facility comes 46 days after the manager’s Covid-19 diagnosis as football slowly shapes towards a return to a semblance of normality following the shutdown.

No group training sessions will be allowed, with only small numbers being permitted on site at a time. “Players will be permitted access to our London Colney training grounds next week,” a club spokesperson confirmed.

“Access will be limited, carefully managed and social distancing will be maintained at all times. All Colney buildings remain closed. Players will travel alone, do their individual workout and return home.”

The move comes as David Luiz, Granit Xhaka, Nicolas Pepe and Alexandre Lacazette were all reminded of their social distancing responsibilities this week.

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Fellow Premier League clubs are hoping that a loosening of lockdown rules, to be reviewed by the government on 7 May, will facilitate a collective return to training.

Manchester United’s assistant coach Kieran McKenna said: “At the moment, we are working towards, touch wood, the lockdown loosening after the next deadline and being able to return to some sort of training.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has admitted “productive talks” with governing bodies across British sport regarding a restart following suspension due to the global pandemic.

The government have also plotted weekly meetings with senior medical experts from each sporting code in a bid to resume action safely as soon as possible.