London, May 28 (IANS): Watford captain Troy Deeney has said there were people who told him they wished his baby son would get infected with coronavirus after he opted not to return to training.

As per a BBC report, Deeney raised concerns over the increased risk to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) players and also did not want to put his child, who has had breathing difficulties, "in more danger".

"I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: 'I hope your son gets corona'," Deeney, 31, told CNN Sport.

"That's the hard part for me. If you respond to that, people then go: 'Ah, we've got him' and they keep doing it.

"In a time where it's all about mental health and everyone says 'speak up, speak out, please speak', Danny Rose spoke out and I spoke out and we just get absolutely hammered and battered for it.

"So people see that and go 'woah' and it's not just us that gets it, the missus gets direct messages and you'll be walking down the street and people will be like: 'Oh, I'm at work, you go back to work'."

Premier League teams on Wednesday gave their approval to begin contact training as England move a step forward in resuming its top-tier football league. All football in the country has been suspended since March due to coronavirus pandemic.

The players returned to individual and small group training last week as officials continue to target mid-June as a possible return date for resumption of matches.

Meanwhile, two players from Fulham tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of results that the English Football League Championship club announced on Thursday.