Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has expressed his confidence that the Bundesliga will be able to return in May.
Germany's top flight has been suspended since March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic but could well be back before any other major league in Europe.
Bundesliga chief executive Christian Seifert had said that the league was ready to return as soon as May 9, though he left the final decision in the hands of the government.
That decision was delayed this week with the German government reportedly not issuing a ruling until May 6, meaning any return to the field likely won't come until mid-May at the earliest.
Still, Rolfes has said that the government backs the Bundesliga's plan to resume play and is expecting to see his side back on the pitch before the month is out.
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“The most important thing was we got good feedback from politicians for our concepts for games without spectators,” Rolfes told the BBC. “They [the government] think that we are able to do it.
"In the next week we will see which decisions are there. I don’t know exactly when but we hope we play in May, the middle or the end of May, we don’t know.”
Rolfes has said that his side currently employs a pandemic officer, who is helping Leverkusen's players ensure they stay as safe as possible.
“In the morning when they wake up, they [players] get five questions they have to answer and that goes to our pandemic officer and our head of medicine. So that’s the first check at home," Rolfes said.
“Then we try to separate them as much as possible. We use different locker rooms at the stadium to try to keep the risk at a minimum.”
Rolfes added that his players are tested for the virus “every three or four days”.
Despite the Bundesliga's precautions, the potential danger of returning to the pitch was underlined on Friday when FC Koln announced three people at the club have tested positive for coronavirus and have gone into quarantine.
The club said that all three had not displayed symptoms prior to testing positive.