Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard tests COVID positive; set to miss Chelsea & Leeds games

COVID worries continue in the Premier League as Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has now tested positive for COVID-19. The club informed that the head coach is under treatment and will not be available on the sidelines for the squad’s upcoming games against Chelsea and Leeds United. Aston Villa will face Chelsea at Villa Park later today.

Steven Gerrard tests COVID positive

Informing their manager’s COVID-19 woe, the club said that Gerrard will now be isolating himself for the next two weeks.

"Aston Villa can confirm Head Coach Steven Gerrard will be unable to attend our next two Premier League matches with Chelsea and Leeds United as he will be isolating after testing positive for COVID-19," the club said in an official statement.

The game between Aston Villa and Chelsea will be one of only six Premier League games scheduled to go ahead on Boxing Day. The manager will also miss the side's upcoming game against Leeds United. 

Earlier, the Premier League had postponed games of teams like Manchester United and Watford due to COVID-19 spreading in the squads. Last week, Villa had its match against Burnley postponed due to an increased number of positive COVID-19 tests in the squad.

Following this, Gerrard had revealed that the anxiety over Coronavirus had reached such a level that one of the Aston Villa players was reluctant to get out of his car.

Premier League continues fixtures despite rise in COVID cases

Despite the rising number of COVID cases in the United Kingdom, the Premier League has insisted that it has no plans to interrupt the planned 2021-22 fixture schedule. The news regarding the same was released by Premier League recently.

Of late, cases of COVID-19 have led to a number of Premier League matches being postponed. Meanwhile, Tottenham boss Antonio Conte came out and complained about the situation, stating that Thursday's meeting between the Premier League and managers was like talking to a wall. He criticised the league for managing the COVID situation poorly.

Tottenham's COVID cases knock them out of UEFA Europa Conference League

Earlier, Tottenham Hotspur saw itself get knocked out of the UEFA Europa Conference League after up to six first-team players and two members of the backroom staff tested positive for COVID-19. The team, which was unable to play the game against Rennes as a result, was dumped out of the tournament.

UEFA ruled that Tottenham's match against French side Rennes, which was called off as 13 Spurs players tested positive for COVID-19, would be considered as a forfeit with Spurs awarding a 3-0 win to Rennes.

Image: AP