Portuguese clubs return to individual training ahead of potential restart

Lisbon: Players at Portuguese clubs, including Benfica and Porto, returned to individual training on Monday as the Primeira Liga prepares for a possible restart of the season during the coronavirus pandemic.

               
Portugal's top flight has been shut down since mid-March, but the country's Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, said last week that the Primeira Liga and the Portuguese Cup final were the "only exceptions" to a ruling that has kept all other professional sport suspended.
               

"All training matters. Even the training that we are going to have to do, for a while, in individual sessions," said Benfica coach Bruno Lage.

               
Porto led reigning champions Benfica by one point when the season was suspended with 10 matches remaining.
               
France's Ligue 1 was the most high profile league season to be ended due to the COVID-19 outbreak, while the Netherlands also opted to scrap the rest of its Eredivisie campaign.
               
But like Portugal, teams in Italy, Germany, Spain, and England are preparing for a potential return to action.