Hartlepool United squad return to training amid hopes of September restart

The Pools squad hasn’t played a competitive match since March when the 2019-20 campaign was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The squad and bulk of the staff members were placed on furlough leave, while a number of other staff members were made redundant following the shut down of football.

Without any revenue being generated at the club, operations at Victoria Park had to be put on hold.

But the squad has now returned to training, though there are only currently eight first team players on the books at Pools ahead of the new season starting, with clubs eager to learn of a confirmed date for that.

There is fresh hope it could be as early as September but clubs are awaiting further guidance.

Nicky Featherstone, Luke Molyneux, Gavan Holohan and Ryan Donaldson were among the players pictured taking part in the training session.

At the weekend, the Football Association confirmed they are aiming for a September restart.

The governing body issued new guidance for clubs in the national league system after the Government gave the go-ahead for grassroots football to return just under 24 hours earlier.

That means that competitive training sessions have now been given the all-clear and pre-season friendly fixtures will get underway in August.

Pools could return to action on Saturday September 5 after that was set as the earliest possible date for the National League and National League North to get their season underway.

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