T&T senior men’s international USA-based Major League Soccer (MLS) quartet of Kevin Molino, Joevin Jones, his brother Alvin Jones and Greg Ranjitsingh will have to continue their outdoor team training fields for individual workouts, in compliance with detailed health and safety protocols that were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until June 1.
This was confirmed in a May 14 release by MLS who announced that the players will continue to be able to use outdoor team training fields for voluntary individual workouts.
A team training moratorium has been in place since MLS suspended play on March 12 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Players were allowed to begin voluntary individual workouts last week, in accordance with detailed health and safety protocols and in line with local public health or government policies.
In the release issued on Thursday, MLS said it has extended the small group and team training moratorium through, and including June 1.
MLS players may continue to use outdoor team training fields for voluntary individual workouts, in compliance with local health authorities and government orders, that were created in consultation with medical and infectious disease experts.
MLS training facilities remain closed to all players with the exception of those requiring medical treatment or rehabilitation, under the direction of the team medical staff, that cannot be performed from the safety of their residences.
While MLS players are expected to remain in each club’s respective market, the league will continue to review individual requests by players to relocate to another market by car, taking into account the totality of a player’s situation.
MLS and its clubs will continue to remain in close contact with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and local health authorities on this continually evolving situation and provide further updates as they become available.
With those protocols still in place, midfielder Molino and goalkeeper Ranjitsingh who are both attached to Minnesota United began voluntary individual training on Tuesday at the National Sports Centre in Blaine, Minnesota, their first session at the venue since the season was suspended in March.
The older of the Jones' brothers, Joevin and reigning MLS champions, Seattle Sounders are also set to begin individual workouts while Alvin's Real Salt Lake will follow soon following two months of individual at-home training sessions.
There was also good news for other USA-based T&T players who are attached to clubs in the United Soccer League Championship Division and League One who began individual workouts on Monday.
Small group settings will be limited to up to four players, with no more than one athletic trainer and one member of a club’s technical staff allowed on each field during a session. Teams in areas where local and state recommendations for stay-at-home orders have not been lifted should not train or allow treatment that is prohibited by their jurisdiction. In addition, all clubs will notify the league of their plans to return to the team’s training facility prior to re-opening and training is voluntary for players.
Among the players who returned to training were Andre Fortune (North Carolina), Leston Paul (Memphis 901 FC), Neveal Hackshaw (Indy Eleven), Duane Muckette (Memphis 901), Shannon Gomez (Sacramento Republic), Triston Hodge (Memphis 901 FC), Cordell Cato (OKC Energy), Kevan George (Charlotte Independence), Noah Powder (Real Monarchs), and Leland Archer (Charleston Battery), all in the United Soccer League Championship Division along with Josiah Trimmingham (Forward Madison) and Luke Singh (Toronto FC) of USL League One.
Further north, Canada-based Premier trio Akeem Garcia and Andre Rampersad, both of HFX Wanderers, and Kareem Moses (Edmonton FC) are all awaiting word on when or if their season will get going.