Pep Guardiola has revealed he will be without five first-team players for Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
Men’s crew
Trio up for Etihad player of the month award in December
Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus tested positive for Coronavirus before Christmas, and three other positive cases were confirmed Monday.
With an outbreak of the disease in the squad, the game against Everton was postponed until further notice.
Guardiola says the Club was ready to complete the game against Everton, but the Premier League advised that the game should be postponed for health reasons.
With no other positive issues confirmed in the meantime, Chelsea’s Sunday game will go ahead, but Guardiola’s options have been severely reduced.
“We have five [players out] right now, ”he said. “Five players. The first cases were two players and two employees – and then three players a second time.
“The Premier League won’t let us [to name the players], but tomorrow you will see because they will not travel. They told us not to and some clubs name, some don’t.
“We need to respect the privacy of players. But tomorrow you will see the three important players who are not there. I’m not allowed to tell you. ”
CITY + | INTRODUCTION TO RISK CONTENTS
Responding to our postpone trip to Everton, Pep said: “We had enough players to play Everton – we wanted to play it – but on the day of the match with the day before four issues, the virus was inside our Club.
“I asked Carlo Ancelotti to name the situation because we could play, but if we traveled ahead and had been in contact with our infectious players, we could capture Everton.
“It was a big threat. Not just here. Around the world. The problem is still here but now we have disinfected, cleaned out the CFA and we take tests and hopefully they are all negative. And hopefully those infected will return safely. In a few cases (of those tested) we do not have the results yet.
“We will follow what the Premier League says. I know they do an amazing job with the extra steps after the first lock.
“But look at Newcastle. I spoke to Steve Bruce and he explained how sorry he was for his club which has over 20 infected people. It can happen here, at Fulham, anywhere in the world.
“There are a lot of issues around the world. We are very happy to play games but at the same time we cannot forget that the virus is here and we do not know when you will get it, but you will get it. That’s why we wear masks and social distance. ”
The City boss has admitted that preparations have been made for Sunday’s break, but he believes his players will be able to compete strongly against Chelsea.
“Well, you don’t know the players as well and you’re not in the locker room – they just see us on the pitch. Yes, ”he said.
“We have a good squad to go in and try to compete against a tough opponent in Chelsea. But we go there to play our game with enthusiasm and good intentions. We try to do our job and achieve well. ”