Aston Villa doing all they can to protect players

Cases of coronavirus are on the rise among top flight players with Tottenham’s match at Brighton tomorrow called off due to an outbreak at the London club.

Leicester are also set to be without seven players for their match against Newcastle with the Premier League advising all clubs to bring back stricter protocols in a bid to prevent further disruption.

They include the wearing of masks indoors and a limit on the time players can spend in close contact.

Villa suffered a significant coronavirus outbreak at Bodymoor Heath in January, while their pre-season was also disrupted by a number of positive cases.

Boss Steven Gerrard insisted the club will do everything they can to ensure players remain protected.

He said: “To be honest, we’ve always remained very safe around the facilities, we’ve always stuck to a certain level of ruling to protect ourselves and protect each other.

“I had a conversation last night with Christian Purslow, he’s going to come down on Monday and address the players in more detail.

“But we have obviously been told and warned that things are changing all the time and just to be careful.

“It’s always a concern for myself and every manager, we obviously sympathise with Antonio (Conte) and his situation.

“There’s been a situation here prior before I came and at my previous job, you’ve always got that little lingering paranoia about the what-ifs. And it is a virus that’s not gone, we’re not through the woods.

“It’s changing all the time so you’ve always got to be on your toes and be as careful as you can because you don’t want to be in a situation where you’re losing players, which obviously affects points.

“So we need to remain really diligent and make sure the players are doing everything they can as well to protect each other.”

Villa will be without winger Bertrand Traore for at least another fortnight due to a muscle injury. Fellow wideman Leon Bailey (hamstring) is not expected back until after Christmas.