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Any Premiership club unable to field a team because of positive Covid-19 cases in their squad could be handed a 20-0 defeat when the season resumes.

If a club decides it cannot fulfil a fixture, a Premiership Rugby panel would then ratify the punishment.

The season has been suspended since March, but will restart on Friday with matches in empty stadiums.

There have been 20 positive cases among players since Premiership clubs began testing on 6 July.

The remaining nine rounds of fixtures will take place over six weeks, with the Premiership final scheduled to take place less than a month before the next season starts in November.

And the congested schedule means there is no space to rearrange any cancelled fixtures.

Sale Sharks director of rugby Steve Diamond claims teams could share points if local lockdowns imposed by the government prevented a game from being played.

"We are in Greater Manchester," he said.

"If there was a lockdown here and Exeter Chiefs were coming up the following week and they couldn't play, then the points are shared."