Milan goalkeeper Begovic lifts lid on life during lockdown

Asmir Begovic says the streets of Milan are deserted and admits he has no way of knowing when training might resume at Milanello.

Asmir Begovic during Milan's defeat to Genoa.

Asmir Begovic has compared Milan to "a movie scene" as the city deals with the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.

Northern Italy was first put into quarantine on March 8 before measures were extended across the whole country in a bid to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Italy is the worst-affected country outside China, with 24,747 confirmed cases and 1,809 deaths.

With Serie A suspended until at least April and Milan having cancelled team training sessions until further notice, Begovic admits it has been difficult to adjust to life in a bustling city that has effectively fallen silent.

He told the Mirror : "The streets are deserted. The only thing open are supermarkets. You can get a little bit of food and then it's straight back to your home. It's crazy.

"People have said it's like a movie scene and it really is. I've never seen anything like it before. I'm not sure people understand how bad it is here.

"But it's hit the country hard. You feel for the country, with a lot of deaths and people being infected. It's devastating and heart-breaking for the people.

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"Now you see other clubs, fellow players getting it and it feels like a nightmare and you can only hope that everything goes back to normal as soon as possible."

Milan's last match before the postponement was a 2-1 defeat to Genoa, which was played behind closed doors at San Siro.

Begovic, who did not enjoy the experience, says they are now just waiting to hear when they can return to training, with no Milan players having yet tested positive for coronavirus.

"There was a debate as to whether we should play at all. We played behind closed doors, which wasn't a great experience at all," he said.

"Then the next day we were in, then we were off and then everything was shut down. It happened so quickly. This week has been the climax.

"Then you're in lockdown. The whole city in lockdown, no restaurants past 6pm and now everything's closed. It literally happened so quickly, one step after another.

"We're not training now. We're not due back until the 23rd [of March] at the moment but that looks as if it might get changed and extended.

"No-one has tested positive at Milan. Now they've sent us away and said: 'We'll see you when we see you'.

"It's so strange not being able to train. You try to do other things but there's only so much Netflix you can watch.

"I try to keep busy, I’m trying to record some podcasts, keep myself ticking over and to not get down too much and patiently wait for normality to resume."