Gary Lineker to miss BBC’s FA Cup coverage and will be replaced as presenter

Gary Lineker will not be in the BBC Sport studio for all the FA Cup action this weekend after testing positive for Covid-19.

The 61-year-old took to Twitter this afternoon to deliver the news to his 8.3million followers, adding that he was "gutted" to be stuck at home.

He revealed that he started feeling "a little unwell" on a recent flight back to the UK from Cape Town, South Africa, though insisted that he "wore his mask" for the entire journey.

"Arrived back from Cape Town early this morning. Started feeling a little unwell on the flight," he tweeted on Thursday.

"Sorry to those sitting near, although I wore a mask for the entirety of the journey as didn’t eat. Hope I didn’t pass it on to anyone on BA42."

Sadly for the former Leicester City striker, he'll miss the Foxes' fourth round tie against arch-rivals Nottingham Forest, which will be shown live on BBC on Sunday.

He'll also miss Plymouth Argyle's trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday as well as Cambridge United against Luton Town later in the day.

Colleague Alan Shearer joked that Lineker's absence means he won't face the usual taunt of failing to win the FA Cup during his career, to which Lineker playfully responded: "Even though we’re covering Forest v Leicester there’s no way I would have mentioned beating @NFFC in the FA Cup Final in 1991."

Should broadcasters prioritise FA Cup matches featuring lower/non-league sides rather than Premier League sides? Let us know what you think in the comments section below…

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He later thanked well-wishers for their messages of support before extending his gratitude to "the brilliant scientists" and country's "brilliant NHS".

"Thanks for all the well wishes. You’re a lovely lot. Thanks too, to the brilliant scientists for the vaccines that should mean I won’t be seriously ill and clog up our brilliant NHS," he wrote.

Lineker has been BBC football's leading man for over two decades since landing the role as host of Match of the Day in 1999.

He was also a prominent presenter for BT Sports for a number of years before resigning from the position last year.

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