Tottenham have been awarded a bye into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after their game with Leyton Orient was called off following a spate of coronavirus cases at the League Two club.
Orient were due to host Spurs on Tuesday in a third-round tie, but it was not played after a number of Orient’s players contracted the virus.
The O’s tried to rearrange the game but Carabao Cup rules mean that they must forfeit the tie, allowing Spurs to go through to play Chelsea on Tuesday night.
An EFL statement read: “In accordance with Carabao Cup Rules, Tottenham Hotspur have been awarded with a bye to progress to Round Four of the Carabao Cup and will now play Chelsea on Tuesday 29 September.
“The Round Three tie scheduled for Tuesday 22 September between Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur could not take place following the issue by Waltham Forest Borough Council of an order preventing the match being played as planned. This followed a number of Leyton Orient players testing positive for Covid-19.
“The EFL Board has determined that in line with Carabao Cup Rule 5.1, the Club was unable to fulfil its obligations to complete the fixture by virtue of the Council’s order and shall therefore forfeit the tie.”
Orient’s League Two game with Walsall this weekend has also been postponed as their squad self-isolate.
Spurs will now prepare for their fourth-round tie against Frank Lampard’s side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, making it a hectic week for them as they also play Newcastle on Sunday, Maccabi Haifa on Thursday and Manchester United a week on Sunday.
