'Positive players could return in 4 days'

A member of Italy’s technical-scientific committee claims it is possible players who test positive for coronavirus could return in just four days.

The Italian football calendar is gearing up for a long-awaited resumption, starting with the Coppa Italia semi-finals over the next two days.

As it stands, a team with only one positive test must go into quarantine for 14 days, but Roberto Vannicelli believes that could be brought down to four.

“One possible solution is to bring swabs close together for all personnel, at most one every 48 hours,” he told Radio Punto Nuovo.

“That way, there will be a very big reduction in terms of risk. After that, other arguments can be made.

“It’s possible that a person who has recovered can re-enter the squad, even if two weeks haven’t passed.

“In addition to having swabs close together, you can concentrate on withdrawing the person who tests positive immediately, while the rest of the team are subjected to swabs: if they come back negative, the game is won.

“Everything could be finalised in four days. I hope this solution can be implemented: it would provide an excellent injection of confidence for the restart, making it almost normal.”

As for letting fans back into stadiums, however, Vannicelli was less optimistic.

“There’s no possibility of fans being allowed in before the end of this season.

“Maybe [stadia will reopen] for only a very small number: in a 30,000-seater stadium, maybe a third of that could enter.”