Nuno demands lone Wolves off the pitch

LONDON • Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers have banned their players from shopping, amid fears they could catch the coronavirus with infections rising across England.

Testing for players and staff in football's top flight is to double to twice a week in areas of the country under Tier 4 restrictions.

Last Monday's round of testing in the league revealed seven positive cases from 1,569 tests.

However, since then, Manchester City have confirmed another four positive tests for Gabriel Jesus, Kyle Walker and two staff members and as such, Wolves are taking no chances.

"We have staff to go shopping and to the supermarkets for them," manager Nuno Espirito Santo said. "We have to avoid any kind of risk because we have a small squad and we have problems with some players out.

"We cannot afford to lose any player, we tell them on a daily basis, 'Don't relax and try to be more careful'."

Wolves also told players to avoid supermarkets during Britain's first three-month lockdown between March and May.

"Our kitchen staff puts together a big box of the basic things that we need," added Nuno. "During the high moment of the pandemic everybody had it.

"When the situation improved, we said to players, 'You are free to go and do your own shopping'.

"But now as the levels are increasing so high, and we have this new mutation that everyone is so worried about, we start putting this together again. It's about protecting ourselves."

Unlike during Project Restart in June when the Premier League conducted twice-weekly mandatory Covid-19 tests, only one test is carried out per week this season.

But following a severe outbreak that led to the first postponement of a Premier League game this season, Newcastle boss Steve Bruce wants the testing to be upped.

Given that the new Covid mutation, which is reportedly 70 per cent more transmissible and has led to other countries imposing travel bans on Britain, is spreading throughout the country, Nuno believes it is common sense to ramp up testing for all clubs.

"The infection rate is increasing so much. Maybe it is necessary and unfortunately, we have to go back to two tests per week," he said.

"We need to avoid potential situations where players arrive at the ground, and then find they have tested positive and are unable to play."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE