Covid-19 outbreaks in sport: Several football and rugby games have been postponed

A Watford fan at Turf Moor after their game with Burnley was postponedGetty Images

At least one Watford fan had already arrived at Burnley when Wednesday's game was postponed

Four Premier League matches in a week have been called off because of outbreaks of Covid-19.

Leicester's game with Tottenham became the latest to be postponed on Thursday, a day after the UK reported its highest number of daily cases - 78,610 - since the beginning of the pandemic.

Three of the weekend's Championship games have been called off.

In rugby, Saracens' European Challenge Cup game with Pau on Saturday has been postponed.

How have new Covid cases affected men's football?

New Covid rules in England were announced last week to help limit the spread of the Omicron variant.

As a result, the Premier League told clubs to return to emergency measures, including social distancing and wearing masks.

Tottenham's Europa Conference League match against Rennes last Thursday was called off after 13 positive tests at the north London club, followed by their Premier League game at Brighton, scheduled for Sunday.

On Monday, the Premier League confirmed that 42 players and staff had tested positive for Covid-19 over the previous seven days - the most recorded in the league over a seven-day period.

'We are a bit scared' - Conte on Covid-19 outbreak in Tottenham squad

Brighton, Tottenham, Leicester, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Norwich have all confirmed cases, and United's game at Brentford on Tuesday was postponed.

Less than three hours before kick-off on Wednesday, Burnley's game against Watford was called off because of an ongoing Covid outbreak in the Hornets squad.

In the Championship, an outbreak at QPR resulted in the postponement of Monday's trip to Sheffield United and Saturday's home game with Swansea City.

Cases at Reading and Millwall mean two more of Saturday's Championship matches are off.

Leicester's home Premier League game with Tottenham became the fourth top-flight game in the past week to be cancelled after an increase of positive results in Leicester's squad on Thursday.

Chelsea's match against Everton is still set to go ahead despite a number of cases in the Blues' camp.

How about other sports/leagues?

Wednesday's Women's Continental League Cup between Leicester and Manchester City was called off "following a number of further positive Covid-19 cases" among the visitors' squad.

Keira Walsh and Janine Beckie missed Man City's Women's Super League match on Sunday after testing positive, and Lucy Bronze withdrew "under test and trace guidelines".

'We get 30 minutes a day outside' - Scarlets boss Dwayne Peel feels quarantine strain

Three Leinster rugby players and a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus before Saturday's Champions Cup win over Bath and the Irish province have said "an additional number of senior players" have tested positive before Friday's game away to Montpellier.

"Several positive cases" emerged after a round of PCR testing at Saracens on Monday, meaning Saturday's European Challenge Cup game with Pau has been called off.

The English side have shut their training ground with all players, coaches and support staff having gone into isolation.

It is the second game in European rugby to be called off this season with Scarlets' Champions Cup clash with Bristol cancelled due to quarantine issues after the Welsh club's return from South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first reported on 24 November.

In tennis, Britain's Emma Raducanu is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, which forced the US Open champion to withdraw from the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.

In cricket, Australia captain Pat Cummins was ruled out of the second Ashes Test against England after being deemed a close contact of someone who tested positive for Covid-19.

Six West Indies players tested positive for the virus during their limited-overs tour of Pakistan, but the third Twenty20 went ahead as scheduled on Thursday.

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