Brendan Rodgers disappointed at the Premier League’s refusal to postpone his side’s match with Tottenham on Thursday

Brendan Rodgers has revealed the Premier League is refusing to postpone Leicester’s clash against Tottenham, despite nine players being ruled out through Covid-19 and illness for the Foxes.

The Premier League has rejected requests to have further games postponed this week amidst the Omicron surge,

Manchester United’s fixture at Brentford on Tuesday was called off thanks to an outbreak among the visitors’ squad, while Tottenham Hotspur’s match with Brighton went the same way.

Rodgers said on Wednesday that Leicester will be without nine players for the visit of Spurs due to a combination of coronavirus cases and injuries.

And with the latest figures showing a record high of 42 positives across the league, others have been in touch with the competition to ask for their games to be postponed.

However, those appeals have fallen on deaf ears, with the competition keen to ensure minimal disruption while keeping sporting integrity.

Asked whether the club had sought a postponement, Rodgers said: “Yeah. We’ve looked at that. Unfortunately for us we weren’t granted any dispensation which is obviously disappointing.

“We’re a team and a club that have always wanted to support all the measures and everything else, but maybe when you need a little bit of support with the extreme situation that we’re in, we weren’t able to get that which was disappointing.”

‘We have tried to keep the training ground open and have people functioning. We were a big doubt for the Newcastle game but for the greater good of the game and fans we played the game. Since then we have picked up a couple more injuries.

‘I am pretty sure there will have been games called off with fewer players unavailable than what we have, but we were not given that privilege to allow players to come back and have a fit squad.

‘It would be nice if there was a bit more clarity. It’s a testing time anyway, so not to be given that support is a little disappointing.’ 

The Premier League board makes its decisions to postpone games on a case-by-case basis, taking into account medical advice and determining whether the club making a request has managed to bring an outbreak of Covid-19 under control.

Premier League reintroduces Covid-19 emergency measures

• PL will increase the frequency of both Lateral Flow and PCR Covid-19 testing of players and staff
• Face coverings to be worn when indoors
• Observe social distancing
• Limit on player treatment time