Lausanne, May 20 (IANS): The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has said that an immediate return to international hockey may not be possible. The FIH said that any return to training and playing has to be "carefully implemented to prevent any resurgence in infection".

The second season of the FIH Pro League has been halted since mid-March and extended to June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The FIH on Tuesday listed a five-stage process for the sport to resume.

"This starts, as has been seen in the Netherlands and Belgium, with a return to carefully managed training, still with social distancing measures in place," said the FIH in its statement.

"The next stage will be a resumption of regional competition, followed by local travel between neighbouring nations. Trans-Continental competition will follow and, finally, once a vaccine is in place, it is hoped there will be a return to normal competition."

However the FIH also stated that there is "no time scale for these stages to be reached and it will vary from country to country."

"What is in no doubt is that future events will look very different for the foreseeable future. When competition does resume, organisers will need to be hugely conscious of safety measures that will need to be implemented, in order to keep the hockey workforce and the fans safe," it said.