David Ornstein: West Brom to receive PL Covid-19 boost this week
According to Athletic journalist David Ornstein, the Premier League will be able to produce ‘rapid test results’ for players who are tested for COVID-19 in what could be a huge boost for West Brom.
The Baggies have had trouble with COVID testing, especially in the case of Callum Robinson, who was left isolated from his teammates and unable to train while waiting for a test result earlier this season.
Ornstein now reports that the new rapid tests will be ‘made available for the first time later this week’ meaning they can be used on players returning from the current international break.
The report also states that several Premier League clubs have expressed concerns over how long it takes to test players who are returning from international duty.
With players returning late from their international commitments it has meant that some players have had almost no time to train with their club side before a Premier League fixture on the weekend.
This is because players have to test negative for the coronavirus before they are allowed to enter their club’s training ground and the league’s official testing service takes around 24 hours to produce a result.
This means a player returning to their club on a Thursday would have to wait until Friday to train before a league game on either the Saturday on Sunday.
Of course, this isn’t practical and the new tests should be welcomed by the Baggies as they still have several players out on international duty.
Dara O’Shea, Semi Ajayi and Kamil Grosicki are all still with their countries and these new tests mean they should be able to have more time with Slaven Bilic on the training ground before Saturday’s Premier League game against Manchester United.
O’Shea and Ajayi are likely to start this weekend’s game so Bilic will be happy with any extra time he is given with two of his starting defenders.
In other West Brom news, we think that Albion don’t need to worry about the result of their clash against Manchester United.
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