The Red Devils are the last club to be hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with the club canceling all first-team training and in talks with the Premier League over whether their midweek game will go with Brentford.
What was said in the club’s statement?
A number of players and staff returned positive sidestream tests Sunday morning and were sent home from training. There are now concerns that the outbreak could spread even further when the club closes its first team in Carrington and decides not to travel to London ahead of its scheduled meeting with Brentford on Tuesday, which is currently in serious doubt.
The club’s statement on Monday afternoon said Man Utd could confirm that following confirmation of yesterday’s positive cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) among first-team staff and players, it was decided to close first-team operations at the Carrington training complex for 24 hours in order to minimize the risk of any further infection. Individuals who tested positive are isolated under Premier League protocols.
The club’s statement also said that given the cancellation of training and the violation of the line-up, as well as the health of the players and staff in priority, the club is discussing with the Premier League whether it is safe to continue playing on Tuesday against Brentford, both in terms of coronavirus infection and in terms of in terms of player training. The team and staff travel to London will be postponed pending the outcome of this discussion.
A little about the topic
The entire group that traveled to Norwich on Saturday tested negative in the last round of routine tests. However, a fresh round of sidestream testing on Sunday morning returned a small number of positive tests among players and staff. Those who tested positive were subsequently sent home and the Premier League was briefed on the situation.
Those who stayed to study outdoors with the training schedule adjusted for individual and non-contact sessions. In July, the club feared the coronavirus when nine players and staff tested positive sidestream tests, forcing the cancellation of a pre-season friendly against Preston North End. Subsequent PCR tests came back negative and the initial results were considered false positive.