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Teams will have the luxury of substituting five players per match when or if the current season resumes, the International Football Association Board announced Friday.

However, managers will still have only three opportunities to make those changes during a match.

Leagues will also be permitted to suspend the use of the Video Assistant Referee system. Competition organizers will decide whether the technology will continue to be implemented.

IFAB said the new rules will remain in place at least Dec. 31, 2020.

The temporary amendment will ease players’ concerns about their fitness, which has been compromised by the sudden work stoppage. The majority of players in the top five European leagues have spent the last two months training on their own because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most European leagues shut down in March in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, while others canceled their seasons entirely. The Bundesliga confirmed this week it’s returning May 16, and Serie A, La Liga, and the Premier League also expressed their intention to complete the 2019-20 campaign.

Major League Soccer had barely begun when play was suspended. Teams still have 32 games remaining on their schedule.

Find out the latest on COVID-19’s impact on the sports world and when sports are returning by subscribing to Breaking News push notifications in the Sports and COVID-19 section.

FIFA has proposed a temporary adjustment to rules that would permit teams to use up to five substitutions to help with congested fixtures once football resumes following the coronavirus-imposed hiatus.

The recommended rule change can be put into effect by organizers for competitions scheduled until the completion of the 2021 season.

FIFA has proposed the five substitutions be made in normal time and only used in three slots in addition to halftime. The introduction of a sixth substitute in added time is still being considered. The rule change would also apply to international football until Dec. 31, 2021.

Football’s rule-making body, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), will still have to rule on FIFA’s proposal, and it will be up to the respective competitions to make the final call. BBC Sport reports the IFAB had already discussed the idea as a means of lessening the physical impact on players and is understood to be open to FIFA’s suggestion.

A FIFA spokesperson told BBC Sport that “health comes first” and no competition is “worth risking a single human life.”

“Football should only resume when the health authorities and governments say it is absolutely safe and non-disruptive of health services being delivered to the populations,” the spokesperson continued.

With many domestic leagues in Europe hoping to complete their respective campaigns by the end of the summer, compacted schedules could put the players’ health at risk.

“Safety of the players is one of FIFA’s main priorities. One concern in this regard is that the higher-than-normal frequency of matches may increase the risk of potential injuries due to a resulting player overload,” the spokesperson added.