As the countdown to kick-off continues, clubs in the top-flight have been given the green light to organise friendlies, but under strict conditions.

Stoke City revealed the possibility of facing Rovers in a friendly before the Championship resumes on June 20, given the sides have played each other twice, aren’t in direct competition in the league, and there wouldn’t be a significant travel time.

The EFL are yet to give guidance on the issue of friendlies, but are likely to follow the Premier League's lead, and games between the top two tiers are a possibility, with Norwich City and QPR set to face each other next week.

The Premier League have stepped up their training to ‘full contact’ this week, with the Championship also beginning to follow suit having returned a week after their top-flight counterparts.

And that could see friendlies begin in the coming days, with the Premier League revealing the guidelines that clubs would have to follow should they prefer playing friendlies to in-house matches.

They include the need for a full risk assessment to take place before matches, which can be staged either a club’s training ground or stadium, and that clubs are not allowed to travel more than 90 minutes for any arranged fixture.

Players must also travel to matches in their own cars to maintain social distancing.

Meanwhile, a member of staff from one of the clubs will need to take up the role of referee.

The development will come as a surprise to some who were expecting intra-squad matches to be the only way to prepare in an 11-a-side match.

Liverpool, Southampton and Sheffield United are among the sides to have done internal matches, as did Championship side Preston North End earlier this week.

So far Rovers have continued to train in small groups, but that is set to be stepped up in the coming days following the latest EFL guidance on contact training.