Thomas Partey
Thomas Partey revealed that Atletico Madrid’s stars “suffered” in adapting to their first training session after the lockdown was relaxed in Spain.
The authorities have eased measures which help prevent the spread of coronavirus – with La Liga players slowly beginning to gear up for top-flight action to resume on the proposed date of June 13.
And due to training sessions having begun again across the division, players will be tested for the disease before taking part in their drills – and social distancing guidelines must also be adhered to.
Diego Simeone and a number of his squad were pictured on Saturday training at the club’s Ciudad Deporutiba Atletico de Madrid complex – with the manager having even donned a face mask and gloves.
Players ensured they were spaced out across a series of pitches in order to keep their distance from team-mates, and Partey admitted that it was ‘difficult’ to adjust to the circumstances.
“It was different,” the 26-year-old said after the session. “We suffered a bit at first because we’re not used to training and keeping a distance [between each other], but we’ll get used to it.
“We’re used to being on vacation, training and playing with friends, but we could only stay at home, so it’s been difficult. Because of the situation though, we’ve had to get used to it. We had to keep training at home as much as we could.
“The problem is that we haven’t been able to touch the ball and play in groups, but we know we have to move little by little towards normality.”
Atletico’s playing and coaching staff had all been tested for the deadly virus, and defender Ronan Lodi reportedly returned a positive result.
La Liga recently announced that they anticipate at least 30 cases of players testing positive, but remain determined to push ahead and restart the campaign in mid-June.