Dan Ashworth believes that all clubs will have to be adaptable in getting their squads back to full fitness should the football season resume in the near future.
The Premier League meet today to discuss finishing the 2019/20 season, and Albion’s technical director believes players will need four weeks to get up to speed in the time from small group training to their first competitive match.
He said, “We are doing a maintenance plan. Players aren’t coming from zero like they would in pre-season. Most clubs will have been doing that, and remotely too.
“It’s not ideal and we’d argue for every week off we’d need the equivalent preparation time, but we have to be as pragmatic as possible to get the season finished while not impacting the players health and well-being.
“There will be less rest time and perhaps using a bigger squad with some under-23 members will be an option, but nobody knows what the framework will look like in terms of returning to training.”
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Should the Premier League deem it safe to finish the campaign, Albion may well have to play their remaining nine matches in a shorter space of time than originally planned.
Ashworth discussed the importance that squad rotation could play should the competition resume, revealing that the Seagulls would have an almost fully fit squad to choose from.
“One of the things this break has helped with is that those with injuries have had time to recover,” he continued.
“Apart from Jose Izquierdo, who’s been out for a long time, we have a fully fit squad. Graham [Potter] has often rotated the side this season and has been quite astute at doing that, so we’ve always had quite a fresh feel to the playing personnel.
“Steven Alzate has a slight niggle that at some stage would need a small amount of surgery, but it’s manageable and he can play if we resume.
“We normally try and do those sorts of things at the end of the season, but the rest he’s had will help.”