The Norwich player who tested positive last week has been independently tested since, and that test was negative. Not entirely clear whether the initial need to isolate for 7 days remains, and whether the player is available on Friday.
Always a risk of false positives/negatives, can't speak to how accurate the testing method in use is, there's plenty of different tests. For what it's worth, the player is still unavailable for selection on Friday. Has to pass a PL-approved test and complete 7 days isolation before returning to individual training.
Presumably not as the player who tested positive? At least we have a full set of CBs finally (Hanley aside).
The Ref for this game is Kevin Friend with Simon Hooper on VAR. Hope they are not as bad as the officials in the Villa v Sheff Utd game who after the Villa Keeper caught the ball over the line from a sheffield utd free-kick the ref said it had not crossed the line, and VAR did not intervene. Shelf Utd should be 1-0 up at HT, you can see the Villa keeper holding the ball behind the goalpost near the side netting
Stiepermann has confirmed he was the player who tested positive. Since tested negative twice now, but is presumably out for the Southampton game still.
Stieps is resuming training but unlikely to be involved in Friday. https://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city...ermann-reveals-coronavirus-identity-1-6705814
Not great, but of all the players to lose for a game, Stiepermann is one of the "least worst". Duda likely would have started regardless, Todd, Emi, Leitner could all play in that position. Pukki, Krul, Godfrey, Aarons, Lewis, Buendia, Cantwell would have been a much greater loss Vs Southampton.
So Lewis, Godfrey, Klose, Aarons have to be our back 4 for every game for the rest of the season. Looking at the squad list we submitted in January, Nizet, McCallum, Famewo and Bushiri were all submitted as eligible U21s, as was Melvin Sitti (DM). Sean Raggett and Louis Thompson aren't on the list. Given the full-back issues and Coventry securing promotion, can McCallum come into the squad when his loan to Cov expires at the end of the month? Edit: Just seen an interview with McCallum (Pinkun, yesterday) in which he says he can't play any games this season. Not sure why, but presumably that would apply to other players who have been out on loan this season.
Zimbo and Byram need a course of treatment to work in order to be ready for pre-season, otherwise they'll both need surgery and won't be back until Christmas. Didn't realise Klose hasn't started a league game since January 2019, jeez this is bad.
Has the club ever viewed Raggett as a Championship quality player? Treatment of him to date suggests not. I guess we'll find out soon enough now.
I think he joined as a clever piece of transfer dealing rather than necessarily for the first team squad. A bit like Marley Watkins. Raggett was bought from the National League for very little, and at 26 he's become a mainstay CB for a team in the League 1 playoffs. So I can see why the deal made sense. I don't know what his contract situation is, but imagine we'd sell him not for comfortably more than we paid. I think the biggest thing that stopped him getting a look in at Norwich is his playing style. He's never been a cultured ball-playing CB to fit the needs of the current team ethos. I doubt we'll see him on the bench this season, Portsmouth are involved in the playoffs. And if McCallum isn't eligible after being on loan, I can't see how Raggett would be? But no idea what the issue with McCallum playing is, hopefully it doesn't effect Bushiri, Nizet and Famewo too.
So to clarify the youth situation, anybody who was loaned out until the end of the season is ineligible for the rest of the Premier League season. So McCallum, Sitti, Famewo, Bushiri, Nizet, etc aren't available for selection. Thomas and Lomas have been drafted into the first team setup, as full back and centre back cover.
With the extra subs in play and us not having any spare defenders this rule tweak probably won't benefit us .
