Doncaster England star Danny Rose says players are 'lab rats' in football restart

The Tottenham defender, currently on loan at Newcastle, has criticised the decision to allow training to resume, after testing revealed six positive coronavirus cases.

A number of Premier League players have voiced concerns over the plan to restart the season next month and Rose believes footballers are risking their health by returning to training.

Speaking on the Lockdown Tactics podcast, Rose said: "I'm dying to get back to football but just with the things that are happening right now, people are going through this coronavirus pandemic a lot worse than me, I don't want to be complaining about everything.

"Just off the fact that people are suggesting we should go back to football, like we're guinea pigs or lab rats. We're going to experiment this phase and see if it works or not.

"I can just imagine people at home saying, 'Well they earn that amount of money so they should be going back'.

"For stuff like that I think is it worth the hassle? I could be potentially risking my health for people's entertainment and that's not something I want to be involved in if I'm honest."

A Watford player and two members of non-playing staff were among the six positive tests for coronavirus in the first round of Premier League testing after Burnley said assistant manager Ian Woan tested positive on Sunday.

Last week, the Wheatley born soccer star, 29, hit out at Boris Johnson’s plans for easing lockdown after he said sporting events could be played behind closed doors from 1 June, which would offer a "much-needed boost to the national morale".

He said: "Government is saying 'bring football back' because it is going to boost the nation's morale. I don't give a f*** about the nation's morale, bro, people's lives are at risk.

"Football shouldn't even be spoken about coming back until the numbers have dropped massively. It's b******s."

During the coronavirus pandemic, Rose has donated £40,000 to the NHS, including £19,000 to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Doncaster Royal Infirmary.