Tom Cleverley believes Premier League 'integrity' at risk if players miss games over coronavirus fears

Bournemouth confirm one of the eight positive tests belongs to one of their players

Midfield star Will Hughes. Reuters

Watford's Heurelho Gomes arrives at the training ground. Reuters

Watford's midfielder Tom Cleverley. Reuters

Watford's Belgian defender Christian Kabasele. AFP

A Nationwide Pathology van leaves Watford Football Club training ground. Reuters

Watford's Danny Welbeck leaves Watford training. Reuters

Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes leaves training. Reuters

Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley believes the integrity of the Premier League could be at stake if players decide to miss matches over health concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

English football was halted in mid-March due to the outbreak but clubs can now train in small groups as part of the league's "Project Restart" which envisages a return to action in June.

Watford captain Troy Deeney said he will not resume training due to worry over his son's health while British media reported Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is prepared to miss their remaining games due to safety concerns.

"If you're missing five or six of your players through personal circumstances, it's going to hit us hard and it does affect the integrity of the competition," Cleverley told British media.

Since players returned to limited group training on Tuesday, there have been eight positive tests for the virus at England's top-flight clubs including Watford defender Adrian Mariappa.

"You can't really say 'that's bad luck, get on with it' when so much is at stake. Hopefully, if the league does continue we'll have all our best players and a full-strength squad to pick from," Cleverley said.

"If it's not the case, then we'll have to deal with it. It's got to be a no-excuses mentality from now until the end of the season."

Watford are 17th in the league, level on 27 points with Bournemouth, who also had a player test positive on Sunday.

Bournemouth said the player's identity would not be disclosed due to "medical confidentiality" and that he would self-isolate for seven days.

Tom Cleverley arrives at Watford's training facility at London Colney. AFP

"Following strict adherence to the Premier League's return to training regulations, the club's training ground remains a safe working environment for players and backroom staff, who will continue to be tested for Covid-19 twice per week," said south coast side Bournemouth in a club statement.

The Premier League announced Saturday that there were positive tests at two clubs out of 996 tests conducted on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

The other positive was at a different club which has not been named.

That followed a first round of testing that produced six positive findings announced on May 19 at three Premier League clubs from a total of 748 players and staff tested.

For the second round, the number of tests available to each club was increased from 40 to 50.

That an increased number of tests has produced fewer positive findings may be a boost to the Premier League's "Project Restart" plan to resume fixtures in June. Clubs are expected to discuss moving to contact training in Tuesday.

Officials still plan to complete all 92 remaining fixtures, with Premier League chief executive Richard Masters saying on Friday that they were "as confident as we can be" about restarting in June.