(Football news) Manchester United have reported a small number of positive COVID-19 cases amongst players and staff following last Saturday’s Premier League match against Norwich City, resulting in the club shutting down first-team operations at the Carrington training complex. The club had made a request to the Premier League to postpone their fixture against Brentford which has since been granted.
Three positive cases were reported when PCR tests were conducted on Monday with those affected currently isolating. A statement by the club on Monday read “Given cancellation of training and disruption to the squad, and with the health of players and staff the priority, the club requested the match to be rearranged. The Premier League board took the decision to postpone based on guidance from medical advisors. Manchester United regrets the inconvenience caused to Brentford FC and to the fans of both clubs by Covid-19.”
A statement from Brentford added: "Following medical guidance, the Premier League board have postponed Tuesday night's match against Manchester United due to the exceptional circumstances of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within the Manchester United squad. We appreciate that there will be many fans who will be inconvenienced with the fixture postponement and we apologise for the disruption, which was out of our control, but we respect the Premier League's decision and acknowledge that the health and safety of both clubs' players and staff must always come first.
"We wish everyone affected a speedy recovery and look forward to hosting Manchester United at the Brentford Community Stadium in the New Year.The rearranged match details will be confirmed and communicated in due course. All match tickets will remain valid for the rearranged fixture."
The COVID-19 situation in the Premier League has become a serious issue of late with 42 new cases, the highest weekly figure since testing began in May last year. Manchester United is not the only club affected by the situation as Tottenham Hotspur have been forced to call off their last two games after a Covid outbreak within the squad. In a statement released by the Premier League, they said “The league can today confirm that between Monday, 6 December and Sunday, 12 December, 3,805 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19. Of these, there were 42 new positive cases”.
In comparison, 12 cases were reported last week compared to 42 from Monday and clubs like Norwich City and Aston Villa have also reported positive test results. The Premier League wrote to all its clubs last week, instructing them to reinstate Covid-19 emergency measures, with testing of players and staff set to be increased.
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