Chelsea's Lampard uneasy with players getting tests before hospital staff

Find out the latest on COVID-19's impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard is unsettled by the idea of players receiving COVID-19 tests ahead of frontline workers, urging "football to take its place."

Lampard told BT Sport he's eager for the return of football, but that any potential resumption would have to prioritize the well-being of players and staff.

"The health and safety of players and staff is huge," Lampard said. "We play a contact sport we're all desperate to see - it’s a form of escapism, to watch football, play, and train - but how are we not going to put the players at risk within that?"

Premier League clubs committed to completing the season as part of Friday's shareholders meeting, and it's expected that voting on the principles of "Project Restart" will reportedly take place on May 8, the day after the UK government is scheduled to announce potential changes to the lockdown mandate.

A proposal to use up to 10 neutral venues to play out the remaining 92 matches on the schedule could require 40,000 COVID-19 tests for players and staff.

"We will probably have a minimum of 70 or 80 staff at Cobham (Chelsea’s training ground) if we’re going to restart training. It’s right that we test regularly, but when we’re looking around the world … I think it’s important for football to take its place," Lampard claimed.

"I don’t know the testing numbers for NHS and care workers, people who are doing these incredible jobs over the last two months," Lampard said. "I don’t think it would sit well, not just with me, but with anybody, if we didn’t make sure that people who are in that frontline are getting tested."