A WINTER break could be re-introduced to the Scottish football calendar from next year.

As two Premiership sides prepare to return to competitive action this week, the SPFL are considering easing the physical demands on players by emulating most other leagues in northern Europe and shutting down for several weeks - probably in January - from season 2016/17.

The hope is that the break - which could cover all senior clubs, although those in the three lower divisions may be given the chance to opt out - will spare supporters from attending matches when the weather is often at its most inclement, as well as giving players respite in the middle of what has become an almost year-long campaign.

With some of Scotland's European representatives involved in Europa League qualifiers as early as this Thursday - St Johnstone travel to Armenia, while Aberdeen are in Macedonia - the summer break for some players has been reduced to a handful of weeks. The hope is that a winter shut-down will at least offer some mid-season recovery time for players to compensate for the lack of time off in the summer months.

Iain Blair, the SPFL secretary, revealed a working group has been established to investigate the possibilities. "We're looking at the fixture issues to try to find ways in which we can make the best use of dates that are available," he said. "We cannot lose sight of the key European dates and international dates we have to avoid, so that may lead us towards playing more games in the early summer than late summer, whether that's the League Cup in July or starting the league in July, and in order to ensure there is a decent break then we have to look at the possibility of a winter break. It is a debate which is under way at all levels within the game but there are no specific solutions at this point."

A winter break was first introduced into the then Scottish Premier League in season 1998/99, was scrapped following the 2002/03 campaign and then brought back in 2012 when top-flight clubs were given a fortnight's rest.

Since the SPFL came into being in 2013, there has been no formal shutdown, although Celtic have taken up the option in each of the last two campaigns of postponing a league match in January in order to create a mini-winter break for themselves.