The Premier League will discuss training and medical protocols at a meeting this morning, while Watford head coach Nigel Pearson has revealed he will be returning to work in some capacity this week.

The Hornets head coach tweeted a picture of himself walking with his daughter with a caption that read: "Out for a walk with my daughter, Hannah, acclimatising to going back to work with the players this week.

It remains so difficult not being able to hug your own kids though. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones. Cheers, Nige."

Pearson is one of many voices concerned about football being potentially rushed back - telling the Times he was worried about a potential fatality if sport returned too early.

A vote is scheduled to take place at today's meeting to try and get clubs back training, initially in small groups, before full sessions can begin.

There is however a growing feeling that the league's proposed restart date of June 12 will need to be pushed back, with teams wanting a long enough training period to get their players back to match fitness.

Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce said the players could risk injury if they are not fully prepared, saying he wanted at least six weeks to get his squad back to full strength.

"We need enough preparation time to get these players into shape or they are just going to fall down like a pack of cards," he told the Sunday Telegraph.

"Most of the managers have the same concerns. We would need at least six weeks. I don't see how we can play games until the back end of June.

"You have to remember that they have had eight weeks off and that is probably the longest break some of these players have had in their careers."

Around half of the league's clubs underwent Covid-19 tests on Sunday ahead of a potential return to training, with the rest due to be checked today.

Sides could be training as early as Tuesday if the vote passes, with the Premier League planning to test players twice a week, with 40 tests per session, as part of their plans to make a safe return to action.

It is understood the 1,600 weekly tests will be led by Prenetics as part of the 'Project Screen by Circle' initiative, with The Doctors Laboratory processing the tests - as they have been in the Bundesliga.

The German top-flight became the first major league to return to action over the weekend, but former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro has warned football authorities against making a hasty return.

"My message to them is we cannot talk about returning to full-time competition when we haven't even delivered phase one," she told The Times.

"We need to learn and adapt from phase one first and I'm most concerned that the guidance does not consider the culture of football and the lack of existing medical governance."

Carneiro added: "Football is high stakes but we need to lose this fear of upsetting individual entities in this Covid crisis.

"We need to spread understanding that this is bigger than any single club, manager or player wanting to return.

"There are wider health implications. We are talking about loss of life."