Lionel Messi and Barcelona ready for tests as La Liga prepares for training return

Barcelona confirmed they had passed their inspection on Tuesday morning

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Barcelona have confirmed Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad will undergo coronavirus tests on Wednesday after passing a league inspection to permit players to begin using the club's training facilities.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also scheduled to carry out tests on Wednesday, with the plan for players to start restricted individual training later this week ahead of the proposed resumption of La Liga next month.

Barcelona confirmed they had passed their inspection on Tuesday morning. "The first team will return to the training ground on Wednesday to do the relevant medical tests before starting solo training in the coming days," a club statement read.

"La Liga gave the green light to carry out these tests after the inspection of the club's facilities was completed this morning."

La Liga has been inspecting facilities at every club to ensure they comply with strict medical protocol.

After receiving the league's approval, clubs can begin to implement programmes for players train alone, then in small groups, before finally in larger team sessions.

La Liga's timetable roughly corresponds to the four-phase de-escalation programme announced by the Spanish government last week, which allowed adults to exercise outside on Saturday for the first time in seven weeks.

In the fourth and final phase, scheduled for early June, the government have said outside events can go ahead when attended by fewer than 400 people.

La Liga is proposing to complete its season behind closed doors, with games starting again in the middle of June.

Football in Spain, much like the rest of Europe, has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 outbreak.