Tottenham Hotspur’s plans for a busy period of games have been hurt by a coronavirus outbreak at the club. Up to several first-team players and two members of the coaching staff have tested positive ahead of further PCR tests on Tuesday. (More Football News)
With a must-win Europa Conference League game against Rennes on Thursday and then Premier League games at Brighton and Leicester, Spurs’ preparations look set to be severely impacted. With 10-day isolation for the Covid-hit players, it means they will miss their next three games.
Recently, a new Covid-19 variant called Omicron, found in South Africa has impacted the sporting world. Several big events had to be cancelled because of the threat caused by Omicron.
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They saw matches against Aston Villa and Fulham called off last season due to Covid-19, while two players posted false positive results on a lateral flow test earlier this term, but were later cleared to play by a negative PCR test.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte will be hoping something similar happens again and that there are no more positive tests ahead of a crunch period. Following the Rennes game, Spurs will play Brighton in Premier League on Sunday, before they travel to Leicester City. They host Liverpool on December 19.
Calling the Rennes game off appears highly unlikely as, according to UEFA rules, a team needs to have fewer than 13 available players or no registered goalkeeper available for that to be the case. If the situation does worsen, the club could consider asking the Premier League to call off the Brighton game on Sunday.
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The Premier League 2021-22 handbook states permission will not be granted to postpone a league match if a club has 14 or more players on its squad list available.
