Chelsea is due to return to training on 6 April currently. The Blues must be smart as that day gets closer in regards to the players’ wellbeing.
Chelsea last played on 8 March. They were in training the following week preparing for Aston Villa as the league was suspended on the eve of the match. Currently, the Premier League is not due to return until 30 April at the absolute earliest. That would leave close to eight weeks between matches; effectively an entire off season.
As such, Chelsea has earmarked 6 April to return to training. That would give the Blues what is basically a four week preseason to prepare for the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League return (assuming that they do return).
The main issue is that Covid-19 has not gone away and that is likely to remain true. for weeks if not longer yet. Chelsea has to prepare for when the season resumes, but they also have to consider the wellbeing of every player in their squad as well as their families and anyone else they may come in to contact with.
Even in a perfect world where the players have kept up with training in their isolation, they will not be anywhere close to match fit. The ones coming off of injury such as Callum Hudson-Odoi, N’Golo Kante, Tammy Abraham, and even Ruben Loftus-Cheek should be healed up by the time the Premier League resumes, but Chelsea has had a bad habit of rushing injured players into full training too soon this season. They will have four weeks to prepare, and they may be uninjured as of now, but that does not mean they can keep up with the rest of the squad yet.
Furthermore, with the crisis still ongoing, many of these players may not want to risk themselves or their families. It only takes one player getting sick to endanger the entire squad, staff, and all of their families to Covid-19. Chelsea will surely play it smart, but some of the Blues may be unwilling to risk that while the pandemic is ongoing.
Some, such as Willian, have already been granted leave to return to their home countries. And while normally being in training would be nonnegotiable, Chelsea should be willing to allow some flexibility in attendance at the moment. If a player genuinely feels concerned and does not want to return on 6 April, the club should be willing to come to some sort of an agreement as to when they must return or if they have to at all. It may not be the best thing to do in regards to football, but it would be the right thing to do.
Even beyond that, Chelsea should not be afraid to simply push the return date back to allow more time for things to subside (even minimally) and to see what the Premier League and others decide to do. There is little point in going into training for a week or two, risking transmission, only for the season to be cancelled.
This is not an easy thing to deal with for Chelsea or any other club. It is unprecedented and the Blues must be flexible in their response to the ongoing event as well as any new developments. If that means allowing some players to stay home or delaying a return to training all together, then so be it.