ASMIR Begovic says living in Milan is "like a movie scene" during the country's "nightmare" lockdown.

The Cherries goalkeeper is currently on loan with AC Milan, but has not played a game since March 8, a behind-closed-doors defeat to Genoa at San Siro, with all football now suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s a total lockdown,” Begovic 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.

“It’s a big city, I live in the city and you think it’s a movie. 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.

“It’s hit Italy very hard. What the reason is for that I don’t know - maybe the medicine side of things.

"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 heartbreaking for the people.

“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.”

“It was one thing after the next. It was literally happening daily, things developed so quickly from games being on, to games behind closed doors and then games are off.

“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.

"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.

"It’s just a waiting game at the moment."

He added: "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.”

Begovic, who spent the first the half of this season on loan at Qarabag, joined Cherries from Chelsea in 2017 and has played 62 times for the club.

Discussing the possibility of rendering this current season null and void if fixtures are unable to be fulfilled, the Bosnian said: "There has to be a solution and hopefully the decision makers will see it that way.

“We have to finish the season, in my opinion. It’s going to be a different way but there’s got to be a positive way to end all of this.

"First and foremost we have to shut everything down, get this virus under control, get everyone fit and healthy and I think the sooner everything gets shut down, the sooner this will all be over.

“Then it’s just a way of trying to fit in all of the games. I really don’t like it when people talk about cancelling, I don’t like behind closed doors because, ultimately, we’re competitors. The fans want to see it out on the pitch.

“There has to be a way of deciding things on the pitch - promotion, relegation, Champions League places, championships and that’s the way we have to do it.

“We could have a football feast. Six or seven weeks of games every night and rekindling the fun of the game. It’s a difficult time for everyone, especially here in Italy and I think there’s a way football can really empower everything and bring joy back to the people.

“I don’t think it’s a solution. It’s a collective thing. People lose out on the experience - players, staff and, of course, the fans. It’s a religion, it’s a culture, it’s a way of life."

He added: “There has to be a way of packing everything in, whether that’s a short pre-season next year, but we’ll see what decisions are made in the next few days.

“The players could cope with it at all. We love to play. We can play every three days. I’ve been in England for many years with the Christmas period and it’s tricky but we’ve got squads now, players are so fit and we’ve had some rest now."