Manchester United captain Harry Maguire lifts lid on training return: 'It seems such a safe environment'

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George Flood21 May 2020

Harry Maguire has given an intriguing insight into the resumption of group training at Manchester United, heaping praise upon the "safe environment" created for players and staff at the club's Carrington base.

Top-flight football in England has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, though a big step towards the resumption of the 2019-20 campaign was taken earlier this week when clubs voted unanimously for a return to restricted, non-contact training sessions in small groups as part of phase one of 'Project Restart'.

While some clubs resumed group activities on Tuesday, others - including United - got going again on Wednesday.

Speaking to the club's official website regarding that return, Red Devils captain Maguire agreed it was reassuring to know that everyone present at the Aon complex had tested negative for coronavirus.

“Yeah, it’s been a strange few months, but it has been a protocol which the club has followed," he said. "It seems such a safe environment.

"It’s our first day back today, but it seems so safe and everyone is respecting it so well, so long may that continue and I’m sure no one will have any problems.”

Maguire expanded on specific details of the sessions and his relief at working with footballs again after weeks of individual fitness , including training in a group of four with one coach on different drills such as passing, dribbling and aerobics.

And while he admits that some players are inevitably missing the social aspect of training with strict distancing measures and rules in place, including arriving in kit and departing immediately afterwards, he is encouraged by the level of organisation on display at United as they look to progress through phase one of the protocols without any issues.

Asked what extra lengths the club had gone to in terms of ensuring player safety, the England centre-back said: "The safety, it seems really well organised. Like you said, we all got tested before we came in, so everyone in the changing room has a negative test.

"Every morning we get our temperature taken before we get to the training ground, so obviously they’re checking the temperature. We all have an app where we fill in to see if we’ve had any symptoms throughout the day.

"It’s such a safe environment and it’s an environment which is there to be built on. At the moment we’re all just taking it phase by phase, step by step, and that’s the only thing we can do at the moment. I think it’s just taking it day by day.

"Like I said, the main thing is getting the physical work into our legs and it helps you mentally as well: being at the training ground and seeing familiar faces.”

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