Antonio Conte confirmed 13 corona virus has been recorded among players and staff.
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has confirmed that eight players and five staff have tested positive for Corona virus.
Spurs will host French club Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, with UEFA regulations meaning the match cannot be postponed unless a club has fewer than 13 players or no registered goalkeeper available.
A victory against their French opposition, who are already assured to finish top of the group, is required to stand a chance of qualifying for the last 32, but Conte expects more confirmed cases.
“The situation makes me very upset because the situation is serious,” Conte said.
“It’s contagious and there is a big infection. Now we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what will happen.”
Conte said he now has 11 players available after one of the first-team member tested positive following training on Wednesday along with a member of staff, describing the situation as “so strange and incredible”.
Conte did not reveal whether the club will contact the Premier League about Sunday’s game at Brighton over a possible postponement.
What was said.
The Italian added: “Tomorrow, who? Me? I don’t know. Better me than a player for sure. It is not right for everyone because we have contact with our family when we come back home.”
Postponing league games is taken on a case-by-case basis and the decision would be made by the Premier League board if a request is received from a club.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg was also due to attend the pre-match press conference, but Conte addressed the media on his own.
“This for sure makes me upset because I am here to talk about football, about my players and the atmosphere that I want to see tomorrow,” Conte said.
“Instead we are talking about the people that have Covid.”
Conte was not able to confirm whether it was the Omicron variant at the centre of the outbreak but revealed he had been vaccinated.
On vaccination take-up within the squad, the Spurs boss added: “I think everyone takes [their own] best decision and is a question for the medical department about people whether they are vaccinated or not.”
