Crystal Palace Squad All Test Negative for COVID-19 Following Newcastle Outbreak

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has confirmed that his entire squad have returned negative COVID-19 tests following their clash with Newcastle - who have since had a coronavirus outbreak within the camp.

The Magpies' Premier League fixture against Aston Villa was postponed after an outbreak in the Newcastle squad, and three players who tested positive had been involved in the game at Palace the previous Friday.

After being made aware of the outbreak, Palace subsequently went to extensive lengths to enforce special measures around the club in case there had been any infection, but no players have tested positive.

“They [club staff] worked very hard to make certain the players came in their own cars, that people changed and sat in their cars, that we did not have the usual breakfast and lunch facilities,” Hodgson explained (via the Telegraph).

“We just went straight from the cars onto the training field, then we went directly from the training field back to the car. We did everything to make certain that we weren’t going to be in any environment where players were close together in an indoor area.

“Luckily we had our test that day and the tests all proved negative, so we could get back to a more normal way of working.”

Hodgson added that the proximity of the two dressing rooms and the lack of interaction between the opposition staff during Palace's clash with Newcastle meant that contact was minimal.

“We are quite lucky that the two dressing rooms are very far apart,” the Eagles manager added. “Apart from the actual match itself, there was no contact between the players.

“The only contact between the staff was that fist pump before the match started. I am not concerned about that because the contact was as near-nil as it could possibly be, other than the fact that to play 90 minutes of football you have to play against an opponent.”