Woes & Triumphs - Week 10

Exclusive: Newcastle United close training ground with entire first team in isolation
The team may not be able to train together before they face Aston Villa after a coronavirus outbreak

By
Luke Edwards
30 November 2020 • 9:09pm
Newcastle United have been forced to close their training ground until Wednesday following a Covid outbreak at the club, placing a huge question mark over Friday night’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa.

The entire Newcastle first team and staff have been ordered to isolate at home after a significant number of individuals were infected.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport on Sunday, four players and a staff member tested positive for the virus last week and it is understood more returned positive tests when the latest round of results were received by the club yesterday afternoon.

Although the precise number of cases is not known, it is understood the training ground will not be open again until Wednesday at the earliest, although some sources suggest there is no guarantee it will open again fully before the game against Villa.

It is also understood that there are huge concerns within Newcastle that player welfare is being put at risk if they cannot prepare properly for the trip to Villa Park. They also think they are being put at an unfair disadvantage, as manager Steve Bruce may not be able to work on anything specific in terms of tactics and team shape ahead of the clash with his former employers.

It remains to be seen whether the Newcastle hierarchy will ask for the fixture to be postponed – which would be the first time a top-flight fixture has had to be postponed since the whole of the top flight was closed down for almost three months from March because of the pandemic.

That request is likely to be resisted by the Premier League, who have previously suggested that the number of positive Covid cases would have to be as high as 14 for them to consider allowing a game to be postponed.

Steve Bruce, Manager of Newcastle United speaks with his staff during a pitch inspection prior to the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Newcastle United
Newcastle won at Crystal Palace despite several Covid-19 absences CREDIT: Getty Images
Telegraph Sport has been told that the Premier League’s general view is that games must go ahead if at all possible. If a team is allowed to postpone a fixture, when they have enough members of the first team squad available to put 11 players on the pitch and three substitutes on the bench, it would set a dangerous precedent.

Newcastle say every player and member of staff was tested at home on Sunday after two more players tested positive at the end of last week, several days after the initial three employees had been sent home to self-isolate after also testing positive. That raised the alarm within the club’s Benton base that they were at serious risk of a mass outbreak, particularly given the amount of time those infected had spent indoors with team-mates and backroom staff in the build up to the 2-0 away win at Crystal Palace last Friday night.

The training ground has been closed for the last three days, with sessions and treatment for injuries planned on Sunday and Monday cancelled and those expecting to be involved ordered to stay at home.

Due to the nature of Covid and the fact one can initially test negative even when carrying the virus in the early stages of infection, the number of cases at Newcastle could still rise. That is likely to mean they will have to test the entire squad again later this week.

The worry for football authorities is that with winter approaching and lockdown restrictions easing in many parts of the country ahead of Christmas, an outbreak could occur at any time at any club, which could lead to a fixture pile up and further harm to player welfare in terms of recovery between matches.

There are also risks attached to the Newcastle players’ families and friends, particularly as some of the squad are known to share their homes with elderly relatives who have been helping with childcare during lockdown.

One solution being considered is that players should be allowed to train outside from Wednesday onwards, but not enter any of the buildings at the training ground – thet could arrive in their cars ready for the training session and head straight home afterwards. Newcastle were without Andy Carroll, Jamal Lascelles, Emil Krafth, Allan Saint-Maximin, Isaac Hayden and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka at Selhurst Park, although it has not been revealed which of those absences were Covid-related or due to other injuries. The identity of the staff member who had become infected also remains confidential.

Newcastle still has one of the highest infection rates in the country, but numbers have fallen dramatically over the last four weeks. The city will remain under Tier Three restrictions when the national lockdown ends on Dec 2.