Patrick Vieira will MISS Crystal Palace’s Boxing Day trip to Tottenham after testing positive for Covid with assistant manager Osian Roberts filling in on the touchline… as he follows Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard in being ruled out
- Patrick Vieira has tested positive for Covid and will miss Palace’s trip to Spurs
- The Eagles boss will be replaced by his assistant boss Osian Roberts on Sunday
- He becomes the latest boss to be struck by the virus, following Steven Gerrard
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira will not travel with his side to Tottenham on Boxing Day after being confirmed as a sufferer of the club’s Covid outbreak.
The Eagles boss has returned a positive test – one of five registered by the club’s staff and players – and his assistant Osian Roberts will take his place on the touchline in north London.
He follows Steven Gerrard as a manager forced out of action after the Aston Villa boss tested positive for Covid, ruling him out of his side’s game against Chelsea.
Patrick Vieira will not travel for Crystal Palace’s trip to Spurs after testing positive for Covid
Vieira will now go into self-isolation and will also be absent for his side’s home clash against Norwich on December 28.
It comes as Palace continue to battle a Covid surge in their ranks, with reports the club have registered five positive tests, including two members of staff.
The club made an unsuccessful request to the Premier League to have the game called off. Sportsmail reported officials were unsatisfied with their submission.
Reports that Palace were pushing for a postponement caused huge uncertainty on Christmas evening before the match was confirmed as still going ahead hours before kick off.
The game surviving means six games are on track for the Boxing Day action – with Liverpool vs Leeds, Burnley vs Everton and Wolves vs Watford being delayed due to Covid outbreaks.
Vieira will be disappointed that he is unable to lead his depleted squad against an in-form Spurs side after admitting he was concerned for his players’ welfare.
‘We hope we’re going to be okay [to face Spurs] but when you’re looking at the number of cases around we start to be worried,’ he said this week.
‘We had a couple of cases in our football club in the last couple of days.
‘We try our best to prevent the situation but it is worrying because the evolution for the next couple of days we don’t know how it will go.
‘I’m not worried about the players’ welfare regarding the [frequency of] games during this period because it’s been like that for years and years. I’m worried about their welfare regarding Covid.
‘Players coming back from the Covid situation and asking them to play with not enough training is a lot on them.’