Darren Moore assesses Doncaster Rovers' return to training and gives update on players

Following the announcement from the EFL last week that matches would not be played until April at the earliest due to the coronavirus pandemic, Moore handed his players an extended break from training.

But the senior squad and a skeleton coaching staff returned to Cantley Park on Thursday to begin exploring a potential routine during the down period.

“I gave them a generic training session to get back into the swing of things,” Moore said.

“They all looked happy to get back on the pitch, kicking a ball around.

“They looked engaged and refreshed and it was great to see them all.

“It was just a generic session. Because they’d been off for six or seven days it was about getting them back in, get them feeling the ball again and working and moving.

“Even being off for that short amount of time your eye and ball coordination can be off. It’s realigning all that and get them feeling the ball.

“It was great to see them all. The session was bright and we worked on technical, smaller areas to bigger areas.

“We put them through their paces for about 75 minutes, just to get them back into it and the plan is to pick it up.”

Mere hours after Rovers returned to training, it was confirmed by the EFL that the suspension of competitive action would be pushed back from April 3 to April 30 at the earliest, leaving Moore with further planning.

The Rovers boss could count on almost all his squad for training with Ben Sheaf out of self-isolation measures imposed following his visit last week to parent club Arsenal, where manager Mikel Arteta has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

The only Rovers player not involved was striker Fejiri Okenabirhie, who suffered a foot injury when the squad was last in training.

“Fej, we think, will be back with us in a couple of days but of course it is down to how we’re able to structure things,” Moore said.