Leeds United’s Elland Road game with Aston Villa postponed due to Covid-19 outbreak but there’s hope for Burnley clash - YEP 26/12/21
Leeds United's game against Aston Villa at Elland Road has been postponed due to the Whites' Covid-19 outbreak.
By Graham Smyth
Not enough time has passed for the cases in the Whites camp,
which forced the closure of their Thorp Arch training ground and the
postponement of the Boxing Day visit to Liverpool, to clear up and their injury
situation also remains severe.
Leeds confirmed last Thursday they had five positive results
among first team members and backroom staff, which added to Marcelo Bielsa’s
extensive injury list to leave him shy of a big enough squad to travel to
Anfield. Although new government guidelines say that anyone testing positive
can leave isolation after seven days if they test negative 24 hours apart on
days six and seven, the Villa game has come too soon.
There have been no further positive results in Leeds’ playing squad but there are three new cases among the
backroom staff. The YEP understands Thorp Arch is to reopen for the remaining
players this afternoon. Leeds received dispensation to open the training ground
for injured players in a bid to get them fit for the Villa game but despite the
club’s efforts the game has had to be called off.
A Premier League statement read: “Following
a request from Leeds United, the Premier League Board met today and regrettably
agreed to postpone the club’s home
fixture against Aston Villa, due to be played at 17:30 GMT on Tuesday 28
December.
“The Board was able to make its
decision in advance of the match to give clarity to the affected clubs and
their fans. We apologise for the inconvenience and disruption caused to
supporters’ festive plans.
“The postponement is a result of
the ongoing COVID-19 cases and injuries at Leeds which saw their Boxing Day
match against Liverpool called off. The Board accepted the postponement
application as the club does not have the required number of players available
for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper).
“The League is aware that the
decisions this week to postpone matches will disappoint supporters, and
understands their frustrations at a special time of year when fans look forward
to attending and watching football games.”
Villa themselves have had their struggles with Covid-19 of
late. Their game at home to Burnley on December 18 was also called off due to
an increased amount of positive cases in Villa’s squad and boss Steven Gerrard
has since tested positive. The former Rangers manager is now isolating, meaning
he would have been forced to give Elland Road a miss had the game taken place
as scheduled.
Leeds are next due to play on January 2 at Elland Road
against Burnley when their players are all expected to be out of isolation. The
Premier League is yet to announce new dates for the Liverpool and Villa games.
