Chelsea ‘have their request to postpone their clash with Wolves REJECTED by the Premier League’
Chelsea are left ‘deeply disappointed’ after a request hours before kick-off to postpone their trip to Wolves was REJECTED by the Premier League… despite the Blues believing they had a ‘strong case’ amid a Covid outbreak in the squad this week
Chelsea are set to take on Wolves at Molineux at 2pm on Sunday afternoon The Blues asked for it to be postponed given their struggles with coronavirusBut the Premier League rejected their appeal and the match will now go aheadA club spokesperson said Chelsea were ‘deeply disappointed’ with the decision The spread of the Omicron variant is hitting Premier League sides very hard
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Chelsea have announced their ‘deep disappointment’ that their request to postpone the club’s clash with Wolves was rejected by the Premier League on Sunday.
Thomas Tuchel‘s side are set to face Wolves at Molineux at 2pm, one of only four fixtures currently scheduled to take place out of 10 this weekend.
And according to the Telegraph, the Blues are aghast at the decision, which came on Sunday morning – just hours before kick-off – due to the ‘strong case’ to protect their players’ health and safety amid a Covid outbreak in the squad this week.
The Premier League have reportedly rejected Chelsea’s request to postpone the Wolves clash
A club spokesperson said: ‘We are deeply disappointed that our application was rejected as we felt we had a strong case for the postponement of today‘s match on the grounds of players’ health and safety.’
Manchester United v Brighton, Aston Villa v Burnley, Southampton v Brentford, Watford v Crystal Palace, West Ham v Norwich and Everton v Leicester – the latter also set for Sunday afternoon – have already been called off.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus is currently sweeping through the division and English football more widely, with numerous clubs suffering outbreaks and being forced to close their training grounds.
Wolves manager Bruno Lage revealed earlier this week that every single player wants to take the Covid-19 booster jab, making them one of the most vaccinated squads in the league, along with Leeds.
Forward Kai Havertz (centre) could return to the Blues squad after testing negative for Covid
But with the match set to go ahead despite Chelsea’s troubles, boss Tuchel may now reportedly be forced to put unfit players on the substitutes’ bench to fill out his depleted squad.
For their last clash, against Everton, the German was only able to name eight players among the reserves, two of them goalkeepers.
Ben Chilwell, Mateo Kovacic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku were all absent either through injury or illness, with Tuchel potentially being forced to turn to academy prospects to put on the bench.
Blues manager Tuchel admitted the call on whether to play or postpone games was complex
Tuchel said before the match: ‘No more positive results at the moment. Of course, but the lottery starts again tomorrow. We’re happy at the moment that Kai (Havertz) has more than one negative result. So he’s back in training, and let’s see.
‘I can understand of course it’s maybe a better moment to play against Chelsea with four positive Covid tests in these 10 days than not.
‘While games are postponed and others keep on playing you can end up in some situation you may find unfair or leave you doubting the integrity. I can understand that but there is also the bigger picture to protect and focus on. I see both points.’
