An outbreak of the Coronavirus on Manchester United’s grounds has forced the club to shake up their season with am appeal to the Premier League to excuse them from upcoming games.
The appeal stated that a “small number” of players and staff of the club tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday ahead of Tuesday’s game with Brentford which was eventually postponed.
The United squad and their travelling backroom staff all went to the Norwich City game clear of any medical related issues but after their return on Sunday to prepare for Brentford, an undisclosed number of staff and players tested positive for the dreaded virus.
This will be the second COVID-19 outbreak at Carrington this season following the pre-season break out before the friendly match with Preston North End which had to be cancelled.
Norwich, who played hosts to Manchester United before the breakout might be affected by this development in the coming weeks.
However, they had no issues hosting Aston Villa on Tuesday, a game which they lost by two goals to none.
Tottenham Hotspur also had their game against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday postponed for the same reason as a record 42 cases were discovered across all the Premier League clubs.
This development means that all the clubs will now be under scrutiny, especially with the new, rampant and more dangerous Omicron variant around in England.
Victor Lindelof undergoing tests after Norwich game
Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof had to be taken off in the Norwich game due to breathing difficulties which the club’s medical staff have been quick to dismiss as not related to the outbreak at the club.
He is also said to have recovered well, but investigations are still ongoing on what exactly the issue was.
“Victor is currently undergoing a series of precautionary investigations,” the club said in a statement.
“However, he has recovered well from the episode he experienced in the match against Norwich.
“All indications are that this is not linked to any COVID outbreak within the club.”
Lindelof fitted with a heart monitor
Victor Lindelof’s wife Maja has blogged about her husband’s case, revealing that the Manchester United doctors have fitted him with a heart monitor to try to understand the cause of the breathing problems he suffered.
“It was a scary match to watch and Victor was very concerned afterwards,” she wrote. “Yesterday he did a lot of tests and has a heart monitor on for two days to make sure everything is OK.
“Everything seems to be OK as luck would have it and we are waiting for answers to the last tests that will end tomorrow.”
United goalkeeper David De Gea is concerned, however, citing the cases of Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero as reasons for his concern.
Both players are currently sidelined with heart issues. Eriksen will be terminating his contract with Inter Milan as Italian laws do not allow anybody with a history of heart issues participate in sports.
Meanwhile, the former Manchester City striker Aguero is expected to announce his retirement from playing on Wednesday.
