Neal Maupay admits it could take a few games for the intensity of the Premier League to return when action resumes later this month.
The French striker – who has scored eight goals in his debut campaign in the top-flight – has been back in training with the rest of the squad for two weeks ahead of the resumption on 17th June.
Albion are due to play the first of their nine remaining fixtures over the weekend of June 19th-22nd against Arsenal behind closed doors at the Amex but Maupay believes it will take time for players to get up to speed.
“No matter what happens in the first two or three weeks there will be a lack of rhythm after three months without playing,” he said.
“We’ve seen it in Germany with the Bundesliga, who are ahead of the Premier League. There have been quite a few injuries and it will be the same with the Premier League.
“There just won’t be that intensity straight away. You can train twice a day for several weeks but there is no substitute for that [intensity]. So I think the first few games are going to be difficult.”
Maupay and the rest of the squad are getting used to the protocols put in place since training began and contact work was allowed for the first time last week.
“In many ways it’s like normal, except at the end of the session we all went to our own corner of the training ground to drink from our bottle,” he added.
“But we are looking forward to playing again. It’s been difficult to train without knowing if there would be any more games this season but now we can prepare and plan our build-up for the first game.”