Newcastle cancel training for second day amid crippling coronavirus outbreak as Steve Bruce faces selection nightmare
NEWCASTLE’S training is set to be cancelled for a second straight day as fears rise over a mass Covid outbreak.
After two players and one backroom staff member tested positive last week, there were two more cases over the weekend.
The players were retested on Sunday and expected to train today.
But that was scrapped and looks unlikely tomorrow as concern grows over what, if any, team boss Steve Bruce will be able to put out on Friday at Aston Villa.
A game can only be postponed if you have less than 14 players from BOTH the 25-man Premier League and U23s squad.
Having closed the training ground down over the weekend for deep cleaning, the club are yet to confirm how many new cases there are as well as the identity of those already self-isolating.
But Bruce looks like having to cobble together a team from severely depleted ranks and may not be able to start preparations until tomorrow.
The blow comes after Newcastle secured an impressive 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Friday.
Goals from Callum Wilson and Joelinton in the final minutes saw Toon rise to 13th in the table, leapfrogging Palace and Arsenal.
Bruce is also making plans for the January transfer window.
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And reports claim he is lining up a loan swoop for Chelsea defender Fikayo Tomori.
The centre-back is way down Frank Lampard’s pecking order following the arrival of Thiago Silva.
And Newcastle are ready to give Tomori minutes in a six-month loan with transfer funds limited.