COVID:19 Cristiano Ronaldo reports for Juventus training after break

Turin: Star Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday turned up for training in Turin as clubs in Italy look to get the players up and running before potential resumption of football in the country.

All football in Italy has been suspended since March as a precautionary measure against coronavirus pandemic and the authorities are now targeting mid-June as a possible return date for Serie A.

According Sun.co.uk, Ronaldo was pictured arriving at the Juventus training facility in his personal vehicle as players continue to follow social distancing protocols put forward by the government.

Ronaldo returned to Turin earlier this month after being in self-isolation with his family in his hometown Madeira in Portugal.

Following his return to Italy in the first week on May, he was under mandatory two-week quarantine before finally reporting for training yesterday.

If the season resumes, Juventus will need Ronaldo in top form if they are to secure their ninth successive Serie A crown. The ‘Old Lady’ have accumulated 63 points in 26 matches so far and are sitting pretty at the top of the table.

Lazio are just one point behind the league leaders with 62 points in as many games while Inter complete the top-3 with 54 points, having played one game less.

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has, meanwhile, confirmed that all its competitions, including Serie A, have been further suspended until June 14.

It had been hoped that Serie A would resume on June 13, which clubs selected as the target return date last week. However, the authorities declared on Monday that the league will now not be able to restart until June 15 at the earliest, reports goal.com.

In its new decree, the Italian government has suspended “sporting events and competitions of all types and disciplines, in public or private places” until June 14 as part of “urgent measures to contain the contagion throughout the national territory”.

Following Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s announcement, Serie A clubs had returned to training on Monday.

Serie A has been on hold since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far claimed close to 3.2 lakh lives across the world.

The Serie A is one of the leagues in Europe that did not announce a premature end to the season. The French Ligue 1 thus far remains the only one among the continent’s top five leagues to have done so with Paris St Germain declared champions.

While England’s Premier League and Spain’s La Liga are yet to decide on a restart date, Germany’s Bundesliga resumed matches behind closed doors on Saturday.