Martin Dubravka has shed light on how he believes the Premier League will return to action, saying he thinks there will be no football played until at least July – but that it will resume eventually.
Dubravka has been recovering from a knee injury suffered in our 1-0 win over Southampton, and thinks the broadcasting contracts with the likes of Sky & BT will force the Premier League to complete the current season.
Speaking to Slovakian newspaper Sport, here’s what he’s had to say:
“Indeed, we have a long time without football.
“Players aren’t used to playing in front of an empty auditorium.
“I have experienced half-empty grandstands in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, so it wouldn’t be such a novelty for me,”
“We’ll see how to set up the rules (for finishing the season).
“I think that the season will finish, as the loss of television rights would be huge.
“I just don’t know when it will be. But probably not in June,”
The Slovak shot-stopper has been our stand out performer of the 19/20 campaign, and without his efforts, we would probably see ourselves positioned in that bottom three and hoping for the season to be voided.
A silver lining for us Newcastle fans is that Dubravka’s injury has happened just as an opportunity arises to recover without missing any games.
He provided an update on how his knee is doing, as well as the obstacle the coronavirus has made while he works his way back to full fitness:
“Every day it gets better.
“On Monday I passed the first lighter run.
“On Tuesday I was supposed to have my first training on the pitch, but I had to change plans for stricter measures in England,”
“It will be even harder than ever. Everything is closing, only food and pharmacy will be open.
“We must no longer meet anyone in the physio team in order not to spread the disease. Everything is over the phone.”
It certainly sounds like he’s far closer to returning from a knee injury than we are to seeing Premier League football resume!
