Bundesliga announces May 15 return raising hopes of Premier League resumption

The Bundesliga season has been cleared to resume within nine days, raising hope football in Germany will pave the way for the Premier League to complete its season following the coronavirus pandemic.

Government officials have confirmed the remaining nine or 10 games remaining for clubs can be played from the second half of his month, with the league announcing matches will start from May 15.

Getting the green light from Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, is significant for English top-flight teams, who have been watching Bundesliga progress carefully as they came to training.

With German clubs considered a month ahead in their progress in returning to action, there will be hope of joining them as a major league completing the season behind closed doors. France and Holland have so far scrapped their campaign.

"We are now looking forward to resuming play, ideally from mid-May," said Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "This ensures that the sporting decisions are made on the pitch and not in the boardroom."

Bundesliga matches have been suspended since March as the virus swept through Europe and led to sport shutting its doors.

But they were the first to have players coming back in training and taking part in sessions while observing social distancing.

There were concerns when Cologne reported three positive results last week but crucially they continued training while the infected staff were isolated. Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou also filmed himself ignoring social distancing measures and he was suspended as his team-mates stepped up preparations for returning.

The German Football League (DFL) announced on Monday they had taken 1,724 tests on players and staff and 10 were positive for coronavirus.

Last week Telegraph Sport revealed the extraordinary lengths teams will go through to complete their matches. Players will be tested twice a week, three team buses will be used for social distancing, players will enter the field separately and there will be no handshakes. Off the pitch, players will get food delivered to their hotel rooms and must provide lists of family members when they go home after matches.

Meanwhile, Turkish Football Federation (TFF) chairman Nihat Ozdemir says his country will be hosting the Champions League final later this year, with domestic football starting for them on June 12.

“God willing, we will complete our own leagues at the end of July. We will hand over our cups on the pitch and then we will cap the season off by hosting the UEFA Champions League final in August,” Ozdemir said.

Serbia's top two divisions will resume on May 30 with a different format - including play-offs getting scrapped - so the season can be completed.