Leicester City’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur is the latest game to fall victim to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Antonio Conte’s Spurs now face an increasingly congested schedule, with this being the third consecutive game postponed for them.
Leicester manager Brendan Rogers had previously said on Wednesday 15 December that the Premier League had initially turned down their request to play the fixture at a later date.
However, it was confirmed on Thursday 16 December that they had accepted the request a second time round.
“The decision was taken with guidance form medical advisors after the Club resubmitted its application for postponement after confirmation this morning of further positive tests for Covid-19 within the first team squad,” Leicester wrote. “As a result, the Club has an insufficient number of first team players available to fulfil the match.”
They have now closed down first team operations for 48 hours. As numbers increase, the request for games to be postponed may be overwhelming.
Manchester United have also confirmed that their game against Brighton on Saturday 18 December has been postponed due to the continuing crisis at Carrington.
Reports suggest that United would have had only seven first team players available this weekend as positive tests have ripped through their squad.
“The health of players and staff is our priority,” they wrote in an official statement. “Given the number of players and support staff having to isolate due to Covid-19, the club had no option other than to request the match be rearranged.
“The Premier League Board took the decision to postpone the game based on guidance from medical advisors.”
Like Leicester, United have suspending all operations at Carrington to help reduce the risk of further transmission.
According to ESPN‘s Rob Dawson, multiple clubs are pushing for a temporary break in the season – until January 8 – to give clubs a chance to recover from the rising outbreak that is tearing through the league.
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