Following a positive Covid-19 test, Steven Gerrard, the head coach of Aston Villa, will miss the club’s next two Premier League games.
Gerrard will miss the home match against Chelsea on Boxing Day as well as the trip to Leeds on Tuesday.
Following a positive Covid-19 test, Steven Gerrard, the head coach of Aston Villa, will miss the club’s next two Premier League games. Gerrard will miss the home match against Chelsea on Boxing Day as well as the trip to Leeds on Tuesday. Let’s not forget that After the Manchester United draw, Steven Gerrard wanted Philippe Coutinho satisfied.
Villa’s match against Burnley was postponed last weekend owing to an upsurge in positive coronavirus testing among the team. Six Premier League games are still set to go place on Boxing Day, including Villa Park’s encounter against Chelsea. Leeds’ trip to Liverpool has been postponed due to a Covid outbreak at the Yorkshire club, in addition to their injury woes, making it uncertain whether Villa’s meeting at Elland Road on December 28 will go ahead.
Luton Town’s match against Bristol City at home has been postponed, while Carlisle’s League Two match against Rochdale at Brunton Park has also been postponed. Covid breakouts have been detected in both Luton and Carlisle teams. Only ten EFL games are still scheduled for Boxing Day.
The Premier League has issued guidelines on fixture postponements
The Premier League heard the concerns of managers and captains during special sessions on Thursday. Managers and players have expressed concerns about the amount of games they will have to play in a short period of time over the Christmas vacation season due to the strain it will have on squads that have been reduced in size due to Covid-19. Find out more COVID affects on sports.
Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has suggested that players go on strike over welfare concerns, while Antonio Conte, the head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, has called the sessions “a waste of time.” The Premier League has subsequently produced instructions to clarify its methods for delaying games, after appeals from managers for more clarity into why certain matches have been put off and others have not. When requesting for a game to be postponed, clubs are required to supply the following information:
- Players and staff with Covid are listed, along with their vaccination status and, if known, the source of their illnesses.
- Due to injury and sickness, players and staff are unable to participate.
- Still available players on the squad roster, including ‘appropriately experienced’ U21 players
- Medical information will be evaluated by the Premier League’s medical experts to verify the condition of each unavailable player.
When considering whether or not to approve the request, the Premier League will take into account the following factors:
- Covid infections, injuries, sickness, and isolation, as well as the quantity of first-team and ‘appropriately experienced’ U21 players available, all have an impact on the squad.
- If a team does not have at least 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper available, the match will be postponed.
- The current status of any Covid epidemic at the club, including the number and source of illnesses, as well as the match’s closeness
- Capacity of the club to safely prepare its players
- Medical advice on whether playing the match poses an unacceptable danger to the players’ and staff’s health and safety.
- Advice from the UK Health Security Agency and other government agencies
- Other unforeseen occurrences
