The mid-week Premier League clash between Brentford and Manchester United has been postponed due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. This becomes the second match to be postponed after the encounter between Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur.
A slew of positive cases were reported from the Manchester United camp following their 1-0 win over Norwich. While the travelling party to Norwich all returned negative results, the club shut down operations of their training complex. The players who have tested positive in a lateral flow test have been sent home for isolation.
Manchester United appealed to the Premier League
The Premier League giants then appealed to the Premier League for a possible reschedule of their game against Brentford. The lack of training and the possible positive cases or close contacts in the squad forced the league to alter the date of the fixture. As a result, the team have not travelled to London for the fixture.
“The decision was taken following guidance from medical advisers due to the exceptional circumstances of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak within Manchester United’s squad,” the league said in a statement.
“First team operations at the club’s Carrington Training Complex were closed down today to help control the outbreak and minimise risk of further infection among players and staff.”
There have been 42 positive cases recorded in the latest round of testing. This poses as a huge concern with the figure marking a new record and also the arrival of the Omicron variant.
“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.”
Many fear that the season in its entirety might be forced to be called off due to the dire nature of the situation. The health scare is impacting the European landscape as well. Several of the recent Champions League contests were played in front of an empty ground.
Moreover, the contest between Tottenham Hotspur and Vitesse was postponed and both sides were included in the knockout draw of the competition.
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