Premier League club suffers coronavirus outbreak

At least one Premier League club has suffered a coronavirus outbreak after players returned for pre-season training.

Those not involved in Euro 2020, the Copa America or the Olympics began preparations for the new campaign this week.

As reported by the Telegraph, the players' arrival has not been without incident. It is said that at least one unnamed Premier League club has had coronavirus cases since pre-season training kicked off. Two players have fallen ill while a staff member was instructed to isolate after his children tested positive for Covid-19.

After a few early teething problems, the biosecure bubble system that top fight sides operated last season was effective in preventing the spread of the disease. For the most part any outbreaks occurred in the days following an international break.

However, a Premier League manager told the newspaper that the 2021/22 season could be far more chaotic. Cases among men under 30 have skyrocketed in the United Kingdom recently and all coronavirus restrictions - other than the need to self-isolate - are set to end of 19 July.

This creates a potentially disastrous situation for Premier League clubs whereby more players contract Covid-19 and have to miss 10 days of action.

Professor John Ashton, the former director of public for north-west England, said: "Given the rise in cases, particularly among men under 30, which is a demographic strongly represented among Premier League footballers, clubs should expect to detect cases as their playing staff return from summer breaks.

"This is likely to have some impact on individual fitness and pre-season training that could only be partially mitigated by testing. Players are unlikely to have experienced a serious illness but training regimes may need to be adjusted to allow for recovery.

He added: "It would be surprising if some clubs did not find they were going into the new season less well-prepared than they would like."