Image copyright: Getty Images
All eyes were on the
German Bundesliga last weekend as it made a return to action in front of empty seats amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has halted sport across the globe.
Germany's top division has paved the way for a return to football action across the European continent and all eyes will continue to fall on the Bundesliga as we head into the coming weekend. Fingers will be crossed that no new cases curb the progress made by the Bundesliga and Germany as a whole over the last few weeks, while leagues across the world start to open their own doors.
The
English Premier League were dealt a blow on Tuesday with news that six people from three different clubs had tested positive for the coronavirus out of a sample of 748 individuals.
There are genuine hopes of a return to action in mid-June with players having officially returned to training this week. Chelsea's first team player Callum Hudson-Odoi was the first player to test positive for the novel coronavirus back in March and while the virus persists, the Premier League is hopeful of a return to action as Liverpool aim to wrap up a first league title in three decades - on the field of play.
"Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days," the league said in a statement.
"The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.
"No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public in this way after each round of testing."
Across the boarder, Celtic were awarded a ninth Scottish Premiership title in a row as they joined the likes of the French Ligue 1, Belgium Pro League and Kenyan Premier League in cancelling the rest of their respective seasons while in the Netherlands the Dutch Eredivisie season was simply deemed null and void.
Other sporting codes also continue to harbour hopes of a return with most set to do so - as things stand - by August this year with the
LaLiga and
Serie A hoping to return to action on the 12th and 14th of June respectively. And while a return to action is a welcome relief, the true effects of sports' return will only be visible in coming months.