Harlequins wing Chris Ashton says a two-week break is "the last thing teams want" after the European cups were suspended because of coronavirus.

The league said the decision was made to protect players' welfare.

"It's not ideal for us as players," Ashton said on Rugby Union Weekly.

"We were due to play anyway so I don't think it matters what competition it is. The last thing teams want is to go two weekends without a game. It keeps everyone fit and firing."

The decision to postpone European fixtures scheduled for the weekends of 16 and 23 January came after the French government decreed its clubs should not play in the competitions this month.

It leaves a two-week gap in a packed rugby schedule this season. Once England's domestic league restarts on 29 January, there are 22 weeks of rugby looming for any club that makes it to the Premiership and European finals.

It is not yet clear when the two rounds of postponed European pool games will take place.

The tournament has four more weekends in the calendar, with two earmarked for quarter-finals played across two legs, one for semi-finals and one for finals.

Premiership chief executive Darren Childs said of the decision to keep domestic fixtures as they are: "The welfare of everyone involved in Premiership Rugby is crucial to us and this break in the season gives us the chance to hand some much-needed rest to our hard-working players, management, staff and match officials."

But former England wing Ugo Monye said this decision "does not make sense".

"I understand that players and coaches need rest but they were meant to be playing this weekend," he added.

"The calendar was set ages ago. Everyone signed up to it. You have got two competitions perfectly fit into a congested calendar, you have to consider the impact that your decision domestically could have on another competition."