The absences of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones from the first-team squad have been attributed to ‘suspected positive tests for COVID-19’, as reported by Liverpool’s official Twitter account.
The update in question means the trio will miss out on the club’s impending clash with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United, with it possible that availability for later fixtures could likewise be under threat.
Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Virgil van Dijk will miss tonight’s Premier League fixture against Newcastle United after registering suspected positive tests for COVID-19.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 16, 2021
Thankfully, further tests conducted by the entirety of the Reds’s squad and staff revealed no other positive cases.
It’s a huge loss for Jurgen Klopp’s men as we prepare to host the relegation-battlers, with the situation in the Premier League steadily deteriorating.
With leadership from the political class virtually non-existent, with scientific and medical experts’ advice too readily dismissed, the English top-flight and the clubs within may need to lead efforts to react to the rise in cases within the league.
Though fans will understandably be reluctant to be either barred from games or see a circuit breaker introduced to allow sides to recover and regroup from their respective cases, it’s becoming increasingly clear that some kind of response needs to be favoured sooner rather than later.
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