Tottenham rocked by Covid-19 outbreak ahead of busy festive schedule and Europa Conference League clash

Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP7 December 2021

Tottenham’s preparations for the hectic festive schedule have been rocked by an outbreak of Covid-19 at the club.

At least half-a-dozen players and two members of Antonio Conte’s coaching staff are thought to have returned positive tests this week, disrupting the build-up to Thursday’s Europa Conference League visit of Rennes.

All players concerned are thought to have been double-vaccinated. Spurs have informed UEFA and are in contact with the governing body over the developing situation.

Spurs need to beat Rennes, who have already topped the group, to reach the knockouts, before facing Brighton on Sunday, and further Premier League matches against Leicester and Liverpool next week.

If more players test positive, Spurs could seek talks with the Premier League over Sunday’s visit to the Amex Stadium and request a postponement. However, under UEFA’s rules, Thursday’s European fixture would only be in jeopardy if they have less than 13 players or no registered goalkeeper available.

On Tuesday night, UEFA confirmed their expectation that the match will go ahead as scheduled.

There will be a new round of the biweekly Premier League lateral flow testing at the club’s training ground this morning, with results expected in the afternoon.

In line with government guidance, the Premier League uses PCR tests, which give a more accurate reading, to confirm positives returned with lateral flow testing. Anyone confirmed as positive would have to isolate for ten days from the time of their result.

The news comes as the the Premier League yesterday confirmed 12 positives from 3,154 players and club staff in the latest round of testing, between Monday last week and Sunday.

All UEFA group-stage matches must be completed by December 31, which would leave Spurs with no obvious time to fulfil the Rennes fixture, if delayed.

Spurs were given a scare in October when two players returned false positives after returning from international duty.

The timing of the outbreak is deeply frustrating for Conte, who is not believed to be among those to have returned a positive test.

The head coach has guided Spurs to three straight wins in the top flight, and to within two points of fourth place, and his side were building momentum ahead of a packed run of games that also includes the Carabao Cup quarter-final against West Ham on December 22.

Clubs can appeal to the Premier League if they feel unable to fulfil fixtures due to Covid outbreaks. A final decision would be made by the Premier League board, with a handful of matches postponed due to Covid last season.

Spurs already have a game in hand in the League after last month’s visit to Burnley was called off at the 11th-hour due to heavy snowfall.

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