Steven Gerrard says his Aston Villa players are to receive more information on Covid-19 protection as football attempts to prevent the new Omicron variant from disrupting the sport.
Sunday’s Premier League game between Brighton and Tottenham has been postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the Spurs camp.
“I had a conversation last night with (chief executive) Christian Purslow,” Villa boss Gerrard said ahead of his return to former club Liverpool on Saturday.
“He’s going to come down on Monday and address the players in more detail.
“But we have been told and warned that things are changing all the time. Just to be careful and look after ourselves.”
Tottenham’s Europa League Conference game with Rennes on Thursday was postponed after Spurs said up to 13 players and staff hade been struck down by coronavirus, while Leicester have also lost several players to Covid-19.
Gerrard said: “I obviously sympathise with Antonio (Conte). It’s a concern for myself and every other manager.
“There was a situation here before I came and you’ve always got that lingering paranoia abut the what ifs.
“It is a virus that has not gone. We’re not through the woods and it’s changing all the time.
“So you’ve got to 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.”
Elsewhere, Norwich head coach Dean Smith admits the club are ‘holding their breath’ waiting on Covid-19 test results ahead of their meeting with Manchester United at Carrow Road.
Tottenham beat the Canaries 3-0 on Sunday, and have since been hit by a coronavirus outbreak.
Smith feels none of the current concerns within the Norwich squad are linked to the Spurs game, but nevertheless faces an anxious wait to get confirmation if any of his players will be ruled out of the United match because of a positive confirmed PCR result.
“We have got a couple of knocks and have got a couple of Covid-related issues that we are waiting on results for this morning,” Smith said.
“I can’t really let you in on any names, but there’s a couple of players who who we are worried about, so we have tested and we will wait for the PCR results back on them.
“(They are) just feeling a little bit unwell, (but) not likely to be linked to the game last week with Tottenham.
“It is just in general, I think (like) with the whole nation of holding our breaths at the moment.”
Given the rising number of Covid cases driven by the Omicron variant, the Premier League has written to clubs to call for a step up in safety measures.
Smith believes Norwich, who have a high vaccination record within the playing squad, will adapt again as the pandemic takes another uncertain turn.
“They are similar regulations to what we we have had previously, so won’t be too much newness about it from what the lads were doing before, but there’ll be masks inside the building, no prolonged meetings and soft tissue massaging will be kept to a minimum as well,” Smith said.
“It has become part of our lives unfortunately at the moment and hopefully we can soon get rid of it.
“The protocols are there for a reason. If we are following them, then there shouldn’t be too many worries about a spread.”
As well as dealing with potential Covid cases, Norwich will also be without on-loan United defender Brandon Williams against his parent club.
Smith, though, is confident if he has to turn to some of the club’s youngsters to make up the numbers, they will be ready for the challenge.
“I have been a regular watcher of our under-23s already and we have got a good squad there,” Smith said.
“If (first-team) players drop out then players get moved up, that is the nature of the beast.
“They have been prepared by (coach) Alan Neilson and his team to be prepared for that situation.”
Smith knows Norwich will face a United squad full of talent such as Cristiano Ronaldo, but wants his own team to have the required focus.
“They play with superstars, we all know that,” said Smith, who masterminded a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in September when manager of Aston Villa.
“Yes, they are a big hitter, but we are in the same league and this league is a very competitive one.
“We will give them plenty of respect, which they deserve, but our players don’t need to be fearful. They need to be ready to go and play the quality of football which we can play.”
