Man Utd hit with 19 new Covid cases to leave Brighton game in doubt
Posted Thursday, December 16, 2021 by Express.co.uk
MANCHESTER UNITED have been hit by a major outbreak of Covid-19.
The scale of Manchester United’s Covid-19 outbreak has reportedly worsened, putting their clash with Brighton in serious doubt. The Red Devils were due to host Graham Potter’s men on Saturday, having already seen their trip to Brentford called off earlier this week.
United had been forced to shut down all first-team operations ahead of that game after an outbreak of the coronavirus ravaged Ralf Rangnick’s squad.
The Premier League ultimately postponed Tuesday’s match, with United unable to field a team due to the impact of the virus.
Rangnick saw the club’s Carrington training base shut down for 24 hours from Monday in a bid to limit the spread of the outbreak.
The base was then reopened for first-team players and staff on Wednesday, with those players available to Rangnick taking part in a training session.
But it appears that the outbreak has been worse than first thought, putting Saturday’s game at Old Trafford in doubt.
Man Utd hit with 19 new Covid cases to leave Brighton game in doubt (Image: Getty Images)
According to The Telegraph, the Red Devils have seen 19 members of their first-team playing and coaching group test positive for Covid-19.
They are all currently self-isolating, though it is stated that not all of those cases are related to ‘immediate first-team personnel’.
Amid the large-scale outbreak, United have entered into talks with league officials over the status of their squad.
United have so far refused to comment on the status of what would appear to be a severely depleted squad.
While the Premier League granted the request to postpone the Brentford match, Tottenham and Leicester’s requests to delay their own clash on Thursday have been denied.
Each request is being treated on a case-by-case basis, but with United having one of the largest squads in the top-flight, it remains to be seen if the latest request will be granted.
Amid the outbreak, a full squad was not available to train on Wednesday, with players tested in their cars as they arrived.
The Premier League may also have to take into account the state of Brighton’s squad when making a decision about the game.
United were forced to close their training ground this week (Image: Getty Images)
In the lead-up to that game Brighton boss Graham Potter confirmed that his team had been hit by the virus.
“We are around three or four and that's something we have to deal with,” Potter said on Tuesday.
“We are just checking to make sure it's at that number. We are trying to monitor and make sure we are not playing games with guys who have Covid.”
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