COVID-19 hampering German clubs’ return; more Spurs cases

BERLIN (AP) — German clubs’ preparations for the Bundesliga’s resumption after the winter break are being hampered by coronavirus infections.

Defending champion Bayern Munich is among the worst affected, with Monday’s training session put back until the late afternoon so players and coaching staff could be tested upon their return.

The team’s return was already delayed by a day after the Bavarian club reported five infections: Captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, players Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso and Omar Richards, as well as assistant coach Dino Toppmöller, all tested positive.

It’s unclear if the five have the omicron variant and whether they will miss Bayern’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach to resume the league on Friday. Neuer, who said he was suffering from light symptoms, will miss the match.

Gladbach reported four virus cases: Joe Scally, Mamadou Doucouré, Denis Zakaria and Keanan Bennetts, all in quarantine.

“All four players are doing well,” Gladbach said.

Of the Bundesliga’s 18 clubs, 13 have reported infections.

Stuttgart has four players in isolation ahead of its visit to last-placed Greuther Fürth on Saturday: Silas Katompa Mvumpa, Naouirou Ahamada, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mateo Klimowicz.

Borussia Dortmund will likely have to do without the infected Dan-Axel Zagadou for its game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Frankfurt has two players in quarantine.

Both Berlin clubs were also affected by positive test results. Hertha Berlin new signing Fredrik André Björkan was among its players in quarantine.

ENGLAND

Tottenham has more COVID-19 concerns ahead of the first leg against Chelsea in the English League Cup semifinals.

Spurs had an outbreak that affected nine first-team players in December, and manager Antonio Conte said on Monday there were more issues in the squad.

“We are checking a couple of situations. We’ll see,” said Conte, who didn’t disclose the name of the players affected.

The game was being played on Wednesday at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge and the club was awaiting the results of PCR tests.

It comes as the Premier League saw its first week-on-week decrease in COVID-19 cases in eight weeks, with 94 players or club staff testing positive from 14,250 checks last week.

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Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP