THE Premier League has revealed there were no positive results from its latest round of Covid-19 testing, providing a timely confidence boost for the planned June 17 restart.

A total of 1,130 players and club personnel were tested in the fourth screening session, which took place on Thursday and Friday, and yielded the first all-clear.

The news is likely to offer some measure of relief and reassurance over the league's scheduled resumption next month and comes at an apt moment after the Government made a point of telling the public "football is back" as part of a wider announcement on the return of elite sport.

A statement read: "The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May, 1,130 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, zero have tested positive."

The current testing round was the largest yet, with each club's maximum allocation upped from 50 to 60, and also the first to take place since the unanimous vote to begin contact training. The previous three rounds, completed between May 17 and May 26, yielded a total of 12 positives from a sample size in excess of 2,700.

There were six positive cases from three clubs in round one, two from two clubs in round two and four from two clubs in round three.

Bournemouth goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who had revealed he was one of the previous positive results, said on Saturday night on Twitter he was "out of isolation after my Covid-19 test came back negative".

Testing will continue on a twice-weekly basis.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters had earlier noted the Government's signal - delivered by Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport at the daily Downing Street briefing."The Premier League welcomes the Government's announcement today," said Masters.

"We have provisionally planned to restart the Premier League on 17 June, but there is still much work to be done to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

"This includes consulting with our clubs, players and managers - along with all our other stakeholders - as the health and welfare of our participants and supporters is our priority.

"If all goes well, we will be thrilled to resume the 2019-20 season in just over two weeks' time."