Manchester United hit by Covid outbreak
Manchester United's upcoming Premier League clash with Brentford has been thrown into jeopardy after reports of a Covid outbreak at Old Trafford.
Fresh off the back of their 1-0 away win at Norwich on Saturday thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo penalty, the Red Devils have registered a number of positive lateral flow tests across players and staff, according to The Sun.
Ahead of traveling to Carrow Road this weekend, the whole group tested negative.
On Sunday, though, the positive results of some meant they had to be sent home from the club's Carrington training complex while the unaffected trained outdoors in individual and non-contact sessions. None of the individuals concerned have been named thus far.
GOAL understands a small number of Manchester United players tested positive for COVID-19 this morning.Those individuals were sent home, while others trained outdoors.The Premier League have been notified ahead of Man Utd's next game against Brentford on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/qOtWK8l3JE
— GOAL News (@GoalNews) December 12, 2021
The Premier League has reportedly been informed of the development with a Tuesday trip to Brentford on the horizon, which also comes amid the spreading of the Omicron variant in the UK feared to cause disruptions to the sporting calendar ahead of several fixtures over Christmas and New Year.
After Tottenham Hotspur recently had UEFA Conference League and Premier League ties against Rennes and Brighton respectively postponed due to a Covid outbreak, United's next match could follow suit.
The ongoings at the Mancunian outfit are not believed to be related to their defender Victor Lindelof leaving the pitch with breathing difficulties during the Norwich win.
"I don’t know what was going on but it was like he was feeling his breathing," explained goalkeeper David De Gea afterwards, with interim coach Ralf Rangnick saying the Swede was "okay" in his post-match press conference.
But this is not the first time that Manchester United have been affected by Covid.
At the start of the season, Dean Henderson was tipped for a run in the first team under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer until testing positive and then embarking on a battle with Long Covid.
Before that, in preseason, Jessie Lingard had to isolate and England forward Mason Greenwood was also forced to take similar measures in November.
