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Manchester City have been given the all clear after an emergency round of coronavirus testing.
Pep Guardiola’s squad reported to the City Football Academy on Tuesday for tests after five players and at least two staff members contracted the virus.
Those results all came back negative on Wednesday afternoon and the team trained thereafter. The training base will be partially re-
opened.
An outbreak of the virus at City caused the postponement of their match against Everton
Guardiola’s side are scheduled to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and the news of no additional positive tests raises the prospect of that game now going ahead.
Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker have been self isolating over the past week following positive tests announced on Christmas Day, with three other players having contracted the virus in the days after.
That led to the postponement of Monday’s trip to Everton, with the Toffees disgruntled by the way in which that decision was communicated by the Premier League.
City fear that members of their squad contracted the mutant Covid-19 variant, emanating from London, on the day of their Carabao Cup victory at Arsenal last week.
Arsenal defender, Gabriel also returned a positive test.
There will be further tests of the squad on Thursday and Saturday prior to the Chelsea match. Should that take place, it eases the potential for fixture congestion over the coming months.
City are already two matches behind some teams in the division and remain in all three cup competitions.
A statement issued by City read: ‘The full Covid-19 bubble underwent testing yesterday, and results have so far revealed no
new positive cases.
‘Safety remains our number one priority, and the Club will continue
to proceed with great caution.
‘The first team training buildings have undergone a deep clean over the past 48 hours, and the majority of these facilities will remain closed, with only essential operations around training resuming.
‘The bubble will undergo further testing in the coming days, the results of which will inform and dictate the next steps.
‘Everyone at Manchester City continues to wish speedy recoveries to all of our colleagues who remain in self isolation following their positive tests.’
It came against a backdrop of significant concern that the football
season could be halted amid a surge in positive cases in the Premier League and the EFL.
Wednesday night’s fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham has been postponed following an outbreak at the west London club.
The latest round of testing at the 20 Premier League clubs, held between December 21 and 27, produced 18 positives, the highest number yet this season.
Sheffield United and Fulham are known to be two of the clubs where positive results have been returned.
The previous round of tests between December 14-20 returned just
seven positives.
But despite calls for a two-week shutdown of the Premier League, there are no plans at present to stop matches.
Premier Covid protocol enforcement teams have warned clubs to tighten training ground protocols following a number of reported breaches in recent weeks.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville are among those against a two-week pause.
Solskjaer said he ‘can’t see the benefit’ of stopping the season and questioned when the backlog of fixtures would be played amid an already congested schedule.
Vincent Paul
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