London (AFP)

The Premier League a little closer to a recovery? The first wave of coronavirus tests in English football championship clubs identified six positive cases out of 748 samples, a rather encouraging result when the fears were strong.

"The Premier League can confirm today that 748 players and managers were tested on Sunday and Monday. Of these (samples), six were found to be positive," said the organizer of the English Championship in a communicated.

Other important points, these six infected people are grouped in three of the twenty teams of the elite only, which reduces a priori the possible spread of the coronavirus.

"Players or staff members who test positive will now isolate themselves for seven days", according to the medical protocol in place, promises the Premier League.

For reasons notably of medical confidentiality, neither the players or supervisors affected, nor their clubs are named.

"It's an incredibly low proportion," John Cross, the football chief of the daily newspaper The Mirror, immediately reacted on Twitter, with relief that reflects existing fears.

- Players not always flawless -

With 0.8% of positive cases, the Premier League is doing honorably against Germany, for example, which, with 10 positive cases out of 1,724 tests among the 36 teams in the first and second divisions, posted 0.6% positive samples.

But it must be taken into account that Germany is one of the best students in terms of managing the pandemic in Europe, when the United Kingdom has the second worst death toll in the world with more than 33,000 deaths.

In addition, since the interruption of the championship at the beginning of March, the English newspapers have regularly reveled in the escapades of players who, while calling on the public to respect the measures of social distancing and to stay at home to preserve the health services, n 'have sometimes done as they please.

These results, which come after the green light given by the 20 clubs of the English elite to the resumption of training in small groups and continuing to observe important precautions, therefore seem good news for the Premier League.

They are in any case not a setback from the perspective of "Project Restart", the project to resume competition to play the 92 remaining games of the season.

- Persistent fears -

The English clubs are currently in intensive discussions with the government and the health authorities to finalize the protocol which would make it possible to pass soon to complete training with contacts.

The first matches still to be played could then be held in the second half of June and the curtain could fall at the end of July or the beginning of August over the current financial year.

For that, it will however require almost flawless execution and that no unpleasant surprises derail this plan, because the fears remain lively even with some players.

Watford forward and captain Troy Deeney announced on Tuesday that he had refused to return to training with his club.

"My son is 5 months old and he has breathing difficulties. I don't want to put him in danger," said the player.

"We will be tested and we will be in a very safe environment, but it only takes one (contaminated) person in the group. I don't want to bring this home," he argued.

© 2020 AFP