Professional sport won’t be allowed to start until June 1, at the earliest.

Recreational activity such as fishing and golf are being allowed from Wednesday onwards, with restrictions, but top-level action will have to wait until phase two of the government’s road map for leaving the coronavirus lockdown.

The Premier League are hoping to get playing again under Project Restart while the EFL have previously said they could complete the season over a 56-day period.

Gillingham bosses were initially hopeful of getting the season completed before the end of July and this could be feasible, within the government time scale.

The government’s ‘plan to rebuild’ document says cultural and sporting events can take place from Monday, June 1 behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact.

By the end of May the government say they are committed to increasing testing capacity to 200,000 tests per day. Restarting football would require all players and staff to routinely undergo tests.

All is dependent on the control of the coronavirus remaining on course.

Among the measures being introduced from Wednesday is the ability to meet one other person from a different household outdoors - following social distancing guidelines.

People can also exercise outdoors as often as they wish, again following social distancing guidelines.

Outdoor sports courts or facilities can also open, such as a tennis or basketball courts, or golf courses to play with members of your household, or one other person, while staying two metres apart.

Things you still won't be able to do during lockdown is exercise in an indoor sports court, gym or leisure centre, or go swimming in a public pool. You can't use an outdoor gym or playground and gathering in a group of more than two is not allowed.

Step three of the government's road map, which would come into force no earlier than July 4, would see leisure venues like cinemas being reopened.

But the document says “some venues which are, by design, crowded and where it may prove difficult to enact distancing may still not be able to re-open safely at this point, or may be able to open safely only in part.”

That means fans will have some time to wait before they are allowed back into stadiums to watch sport.

Gillingham’s last league match was on March 7, away to Sunderland. They’ve now been without action for two months, with players training alone during the majority of that time.

Any plans for a restart to the EFL would require a mini pre-season and the Gills have already put things in place should they get a chance to restart. But both manager Steve Evans and chairman Paul Scally last week suggested the season might have to be put into hibernation.

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