Hibs players will resume training at East Mains on 11 June and could be back in action from the 1st August although the fans will have to wait to get back to Easter Road as the games will be played behind closed doors.

The new Scottish Premiership season will start that weekend if Scotland is in phase two of its route map out of the coronavirus pandemic.

The next review is scheduled for 18 June with further phases implemented if enough progress is made on keeping the virus under control.

Ladbrokes Scottish Premieeship – Heart of Midlothian v Hibernian. Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, Midlothian, UK. 26/12/2019. Pic shows: Hibs’ winger, Martin Boyle, goes for his hat trick as Hearts go down 0-2 to Hibernian in the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership, Edinburgh Boxing Day derby at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh. Credit: Ian Jacobs

A limited number of spectators will be allowed inside stadiums during phase three with crowd restrictions eased further in stage four.

Sports minister Joe Fitzpatrick met with representatives of the SFA and SPFL yesterday to discuss restart plans.

The SFA will lift football’s suspension for top-flight clubs on 11 June, allowing them to resume training.

The ruling only applies to top-flight teams and talks are ongoing to establish whether lower league teams will be able to play without fans.

Hibs own their training centre at East Mains near Ormiston which will be used to get the players fit in time for the league campaign.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “While acknowledging that the current testing regime required to be observed will be prohibitive for most clubs out with the Premiership at this time, we are aware that there are hundreds of thousands of players across the Scottish football landscape looking for clarity on when they can return to action.

“In particular, the paused Scottish Women’s Premier League is keen to restart and we will be discussing with stakeholders the process to restart the women’s senor game in line with the government’s route map out of lockdown.”

Talks are ongoing with regard to broadcasting the games live on Hibs TV.

John Hislop
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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.