Antonio Conte reveals Tottenham have just ELEVEN players left to play after Covid outbreak
‘It’s a big infection. We have families, it’s not right’: Emotional boss Antonio Conte reveals Tottenham have just ELEVEN players left to play after growing major Covid outbreak – and calls for matches to stop
Spurs are struggling with a Covid outbreak with just eleven players available The situation worsened after seven players initially tested positive Their Brighton trip is at risk with the club set to request a postponement Antonio Conte admitted his side are ‘scared’ after the outbreak hit his squad He said it was a ‘serious problem’ and said the club were facing uncertainty
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Tottenham boss Antonio Conte admitted his side are ‘scared’ about the Covid outbreak that has ripped its way through his squad – with just eleven players left available and the club planning to request that their trip to Brighton is postponed.
Spurs were forced to re-test all of their players and staff on Tuesday after seven stars and four members of staff returned positive results earlier in the week.
And further positives have emerged from their latest coronavirus PCR tests – including one player and one member of staff who were involved in training today only to discover after the session that they had also contracted the virus, taking the total number affected to 13 players and staff.
Conte said: ‘The problem is every day we are having people with Covid. People that yesterday weren’t positive today are positive and we continue to have contact with people we think are negative but the day after they become positive I think this is a serious problem.
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte admitted his side’s Covid outbreak was ‘scary’ after 13 players and staff tested positive
It is not yet known which players have been affected, with seven initially picking up the virus before the situation escalated
‘Today one player and one member of staff. I think the worst is we don’t know and we continue to have contact with people the day before was negative. And for sure this is not a good situation.
‘We had a training session. We prepare the game against Rennes but it is very difficult to face at the end of the training session again, one player positive, another member of staff positive and tomorrow who? Me? Another player? Another member of staff? And we continue in this way.
‘The situation is serious but I don’t know and it’s a pity because I want to speak about football and now to speak about covid I think this is not good for you, me, our fans, all of football I think.
Conte’s men are preparing for a UEFA Conference League game against Rennes on Thursday but the Italian revealed he has just 11 players available
‘Every day we are having contact with people that are false negative and become positive and them everyone is a bit scared because we have family and why I have to take this risk? Why? This is my question.
‘Today we had the training session, we prepared the game and yesterday two other positives, today two other positives and tomorrow, who? Me? I don’t know. Maybe. Better me than a player for sure but I think that it is not right for everyone because we have family and contact with them when we come back home we have contact with our family.
‘There are situations that made me very upset, very upset because it is serious and there is a big infection and now for sure we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what happened.’
Spurs striker Harry Kane led the group of remaining group training ahead of the Rennes clash
Davinson Sanchez (centre), Matt Doherty (left) and Eric Dier (second left) also took part
Youngster Nile John was among the group preparing for their UEFA Conference League clash
Conte ended his press conference after just ten minutes, with huge question marks now hanging over their next two games.
Tottenham players looked concerned as they headed out for training on Wednesday afternoon. Vice captain Harry Kane led the group, along with Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Matt Doherty and Joe Rodon.
As reported by Sportsmail, the Premier League were already braced for a request from Spurs who were holding off making a call on their intentions for the Brighton game until the outcome of their follow-up tests were confirmed.
Conte said the players were worried about passing the virus on to their families and said he was ‘upset’ about the situation
The club are set to make a request to the Premier League to postpone their trip to Brighton
The Premier League have agreed to postpone fixtures in the past when clubs have been badly hit. The Premier League board make the final decision, treating each request on a case-by-case basis.
Spurs’s immediate priority is tomorrow’s meeting with French side Rennes, a game UEFA insisted on Tuesday that they expect to go ahead.
But UEFA will now be facing serious questions about the game, with their rules stipulating that a game would be in danger of being postponed if Spurs had less than 13 players from their 25-man A list or no goalkeeper available.
The outbreak comes as a huge blow to Conte, whose side have won their last three successive games and are desperate to keep momentum going.
The news comes as a huge blow to Spurs, who are looking to keep their momentum after three straight Premier League wins
Spurs already have a game in hand to play after their clash at Burnley was called off due to adverse weather and Conte will be frustrated to miss out on another chance to close the gap to the top four – even without a number of top players.
Earlier in the season, the club reported two false positives ahead of their trip to Newcastle after taking lateral flow tests before the senior players were given the all clear to take part.
Covid outbreaks were common last season – with many games forced to be delayed as players were struck down with the virus – but Spurs would become the first team to postpone a game if they are unable to fulfil their fixture at Brighton.
Tottenham are on a high after beating Norwich 3-0 on Sunday, which followed a 2-0 win over Brentford and a 2-1 victory against Leeds. They must win their Conference League game against Rennes to have any chance of reaching the next round.
