Covid-19 Case Goes Crazy, Aston Villa Training Grounds Closed

Aston Villa training session (Twitter @AVFCOfficial)

JAKARTA - Aston Villa was forced to close their training ground on Thursday after two rounds of tests resulted in several positive cases of COVID-19 among players and staff.

"A large number of first team players and staff returned positive tests after undergoing routine tests on Monday and immediately went into isolation," Villa said in a statement quoted by Antara from AFP on Friday, January 8.

"A second round of tests was carried out soon and yielded more positive results today."

The Premier League club's FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool on Friday is in danger of being postponed.

"First team training ahead of tomorrow's FA Cup tie with Liverpool has been canceled," added a Villa statement.

"Talks are ongoing between the club's medical representatives, the Football Association and the Premier League."

Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.

- Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2021

Villa is the fourth Premier League club to experience the COVID-19 outbreak in the past two months with growing concerns about whether England's top league can finish the season on schedule.

Three Premier League games were postponed last week because of the outbreaks at Manchester City and Fulham.

On Tuesday, a record-high 40 positive test results were detected among Premier League players and staff in the week between December 28 and January 3.

Southampton's trip for the FA Cup to Shrewsbury has been postponed due to a number of positive cases at the League One club.

Wayne Rooney's derby will complement their game at Chorley with the youth team after nine people tested positive among first-team players and staff.