Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara are still in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 last week, and it was uncertain whether they would make it to the match against Leeds on Boxing Day.
Now that the match has been postponed due to an outbreak in the away team’s camp, Liverpool’s next match is away against Leicester on December 28. According to Paul Joyce in The Times van Dijk, Fabinho and Jones are set to be ready for that match – as the situation is at the moment. Whether Thiago will be ready is more uncertain.
New rules
At Tuesday’s press conference, assistant manager Pep Lijnders went a long way in suggesting that the infected players were unlikely to be involved in Boxing Day.
– We will not rush to get them back, and we will take our time. This virus is very unpredictable. We have to see how each one is. If they get sick or have symptoms. We do not want to rush anything, and will take our time. That is the most important thing, he said.
Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Curtis Jones all tested positive on the morning of December 16, while Thiago Alcantara tested positive on December 18.
On Wednesday, the government made changes to how long infected people should isolate themselves. The isolation period is reduced from ten to seven days, if the infected person tests negative on a rapid test two days in a row. According to the BBC, this applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and also to those who are already infected in isolation now.
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