Covid outbreak leaves Tottenham with only 10 senior outfield players available

An outbreak of coronavirus within the Tottenham Hotspur camp has left Antonio Conte with just 10 senior players ahead of the crucial Europa Conference League clash with Rennes on Thursday evening.

Yesterday it was announced that six players and two members of the backroom team had returned positive results for COVID-19.

But after another round of testing at Hotspur Way, a further two players and three members of staff have tested positive.

Those who have contracted the virus will now spend 10 days in isolation, in accordance with government guidelines, and therefore will be unavailable for Spurs' crunch European game tomorrow night.

Alasdair Gold of Football London reports the outbreak has left Conte with just 10 senior outfield players for the match against Rennes, which is still expected to take place.

UEFA rules stipulate the fixture is only in jeopardy if a team have fewer than 13 players available, or no registered goalkeeper.

And it's likely Tottenham will need a win against Group G leaders Rennes to reach the knockout stages.

Spurs need to better third-placed Vitesse's result in order to qualify with the Dutch side hosting bottom of the group Mura in their final fixture.

Should UEFA give special dispensation for Tottenham's match against Rennes to be cancelled? Let us know in the comments section.

But preparation for their final group stage match has been far from ideal.

Antonio Conte spoke to the press on Wednesday afternoon about the outbreak at Hotspur Way.

He said: "I think this is a serious problem, and it's a pity because during the press conference I'd like to talk about football and the next game and not about Covid.

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"But the situation is serious. Every day we are having positives. Today one player and one member of staff.

"I think the worst is we don't know, and we continue to have contact with people that the day before weren't negative.

"For sure this is not a good situation. We have a training session to prepare for the game against Rennes, but it's very difficult."

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