News reports circulating yesterday talked about Newcastle United closing down their training ground following multiple positive COVID-19 cases among the players of the club.
Newcastle have now come out and said that they will not be naming the players who have tested positive to respect their privacy.
Owing to the numerous positive cases at the club’s training facility, the Premier League has now officially postponed the game between Newcastle United and Aston Villa, scheduled to be held this weekend, to a later date.
The club, Premier League as well as the Health Authorities in England will make sure that the people and staff in the Newcastle training ground are re-tested and that their results are further evaluated for the safety of everybody involved.
The staff and players who have tested positive are currently in isolation to prevent the further spread of the virus.
The cancellation of the match between Villa and Newcastle is the first in the Premier League this season, and will probably not be the last of it’s kind either.
Newcastle currently sit 13th in the Premier League, in front of Arsenal, earning 14 points from 10 games played. After losing to Chelsea 2-0, the Magpies would have been hoping to continue recovery in form after winning against Crystal Palace this past weekend by the same scoreline, only in their favour this time.
Aston Villa can confirm that the Club fully supports the Premier League’s decision to postpone our fixture with Newcastle United on Friday.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 1, 2020
Everybody at Aston Villa wishes a speedy recovery to all those @NUFC affected by the virus.
Villa, on the other hand, could use the weekend to regroup and rethink their approach to games on the back of the 2-1 defeat to West Ham on matchday 10. Villa sit slap bang in the middle of the Premier League table, and already have a game in hand on the teams above.
Newcastle will likely host West Brom on matchday 12 next, while Aston Villa compete against Wolves in the Midlands derby on the same date.
