Sources: Six Tottenham players and staff hit by Covid outbreak as fixtures under threat
Tottenham have suffered a Covid-19 outbreak in their ranks with six star players as well as coaches among those affected, Football Insider understands.
Emerson Royal and Bryan Gil missed Sunday’s 3-0 win over Norwich City after testing positive for Covid-19.
A Tottenham source has told Football Insider that other players and coaches have been struck by the virus to throw manager Antonio Conte’s plans into disarray ahead of an intense period of matches.
This site has been given a list of the names of those who tested positive using a lateral flow test.
In addition to Emerson and Gil, they are believed to include four other players and at least one senior member of Conte’s coaching staff.
Further mass testing is due to take place at Tottenham today (7 December) and the results of those will have a major bearing on future plans.
The club did have two players earlier in the season recording false positive tests and then negatives on two follow-up tests.
Tottenham are scheduled to play Stade Rennais on Thursday in the final group stage of the Europa Conference League, a match the hosts must win if they are to avoid crashing out of the competition.
The outbreak may also impact Sunday’s trip to the Amex to play Brighton & Hove Albion, which is followed by Premier League fixtures next week against Leicester City and Liverpool.
Premier League fixtures have previously been postponed due to Covid outbreaks, but there is no precedent in the Europa Conference League.
UEFA rules for the competition stipulate that a match would only be in jeopardy if “less than 13 players registered on the A list or no registered goalkeeper are available”.
In other news, 24-year-old is “100 per cent” planning to quit Tottenham in January after decision is made.