Digest

SOCCER

Juventus squad back training minus Ronaldo

Giorgio Chiellini led the way as Juventus players returned to individual training at the team's sports center on Tuesday, while Cristiano Ronaldo began two weeks' coronavirus quarantine after returning to Italy.

Captain Chiellini, 35, arrived early with Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci, wearing a black face mask, just after midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Playmaker Miralem Pjanic showed up in the afternoon, along with Juan Cuadrado, Mattia De Sciglio, Federico Bernardeschi and Daniele Rugani.

Serie A champion Juve said the sessions, which are allowed thanks to Sunday's green light from the Italian interior ministry, "will take place on an individual basis and with staggered arrivals to allow full compliance with the regulations in force". Ronaldo's return is more uncertain after two months of confinement on his native island of Madeira.

EPL return 'would lift Britain's spirits'

Restarting the English Premier League would be a boost to Britain's morale amid the coronavirus crisis, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Tuesday.

Premier League chiefs have targeted a June return to action as they bid to finish the season over the summer.

England's top flight has been suspended since March 13 and there are still 92 matches remaining, with the title, relegation and Champions League qualification all to be resolved.

Some critics have questioned whether the Premier League is trying to return too soon after the top-tier seasons in France and the Netherlands were abandoned.

But Raab sees merit in the Premier League's 'Project Restart'.

"I think it would lift the spirits of the nation and people would like to see us get back to work and children can go to school safely but also past times like sport," he said during a UK government media conference.

"I know the government has had constructive meetings with sports bodies to plan for athletes' return to training when it's safe."

PANDEMIC

Baseball first to the plate in Korean restart

Professional sports in South Korea returned to action after the coronavirus shutdown with the opening of a new baseball season on Tuesday, while soccer and golf will soon follow suit in a ray of hope for suspended competitions worldwide.

Friday will see the delayed start of soccer's K-League, and next week some of golf's leading women players will tee up in a domestic tournament as South Korea becomes a rare hot spot for live sport.

Fans were not allowed in when any of Tuesday's five opening Korean Baseball Organization matches saw the first pitches thrown, a marked contrast from the packed stadiums of previous years when fans sang and cheered relentlessly no matter the score.

Instead, banners with photos of masked fans stretched across the empty bleachers at the Incheon-based SK Wyverns club's Munhak Baseball Stadium.

Banners carrying messages for victory were also put up at the LG Twins club's Jamsil derby in Seoul, saying: "Even if we are apart, we are TWINS."

BASKETBALL

Sixers smiling after Simmons update

Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons should be able to return from his back injury when the NBA resumes play, general manager Elton Brand said on Tuesday.

Simmons sat out his eighth consecutive game on March 11, and that day the team announced he would be sidelined at least three more weeks due to a nerve impingement in his lower back.

That night, the 76ers beat the Detroit Pistons 124-106 in one of the final games before the NBA shut down the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The regular season had been due to end on April 15. Now, the timetable for the NBA to resume action remains uncertain. However, the time off has allowed Simmons to heal.

"Ben Simmons is doing really, really well," Brand said. "I give Ben and our medical staff a ton of credit for their hard work throughout his recovery."

Utah pair 'put virus feud behind them'

Utah Jazz chief Dennis Lindsey said on Tuesday that Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are ready to bury the hatchet following their recent feud.

Gobert and Mitchell did not speak to each other for around a month after Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11, triggering the suspension of the NBA season.

French star Gobert was criticized for his conduct in the days before his positive test, which included theatrically touching recording devices during a media briefing.

Gobert later apologized for his behavior, and Mitchell, who tested positive after Gobert, hinted at a rift between the pair, saying it had taken him a while to "cool off" over the incident.

Lindsey said on Tuesday: "They're ready to put this behind them, move forward, act professionally.

"Look, the COVID-19 night of March (11) was really unprecedented. It brought a microscope to our team, and we get it. With that said, we're very pleased with the collective makeup of our group, Donovan and Rudy in particular. They've said their piece to each other."

TENNIS

Club sorry for Djokovic lockdown violation

The tennis club where Novak Djokovic broke confinement rules in Spain said on Tuesday it mistakenly allowed the top-ranked star to practice and apologized for the error.

Djokovic published a video of him training on Monday in apparent violation of Spain's COVID-19 rules.

The video showed Djokovic exchanging shots with another man at the club in the coastal city of Marbella, where the Serbian has been staying for the past several weeks.

Djokovic filmed the video while hitting shots and wrote he was "so happy to play on clay... well, just for a bit with my phone in the hands."

Spain has eased some of the lockdown measures that had been in place since mid-March, allowing professional athletes to return to practice, but most sports facilities must remain closed until next week.

Xinhua - Agencies