Friday’s match between Newcastle and Aston Villa is the first Premier League game to be postponed due to Covid-19.
The Premier League had little choice but to call the game off after Newcastle’s training ground was closed on Monday. With Newcastle not being allowed to return to training until Friday, they would have been unable to prepare for Villa.
Manager Steve Bruce could technically have named an acceptable 14-man squad for the game. However, Newcastle’s need to fly in and out of Birmingham and stay at a hotel further complicated matters.
Reportedly, a total of 19 Newcastle United players and staff have tested positive for Covid-19 since the weekend.
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All Newcastle personnel will be retested this week while Public Health England, league and club officials meet to determine the source of the outbreak.
Via the Irish Times, there are a few possibilities as to how the outbreak was caused. Swedish international Emil Krafth’s emission from the squad to play Crystal Palace last Friday was unexplained. Midfielder Isaac Hayden also missed the trip to Selhurst Park in London due to ‘illness’.
It’s possible Covid-19 had breached the Newcastle organisation a week earlier. Steve Bruce’s assistant, Steve Agnew, missed the Chelsea defeat a week prior due to illness.
Newcastle have not released the names of anybody affected by the virus on the grounds of medical confidentiality.
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The postponement comes at an unfortunate time, as England prepares to welcome fans back into stadiums for the first time. On Thursday night, Arsenal will be the first Premier League team to play in front of a crowd when they play Rapid Vienna in the Europa League.
Under current guidelines, football grounds are allowed to host either half of their maximum capacity or 2,000 fans, whichever is less. As football begins to return to some sort of normality, this is a reminder that the coronavirus isn’t going anywhere soon.
