Southampton’s FA Cup Third-Round tie against Shrewsbury Town is set to be postponed after a Coronavirus outbreak at the League One side.
An official statement from the Shrews earlier today confirmed that “several members” of Steve Cotterill’s first-team squad have returned positive Covid-19 tests and must self-isolate accordingly.
The Athletic now report that it is a strong possibility that Saints’ cup meeting with them on Saturday will be postponed and that the FA are set to make a decision on the fixture later today.
If called off, the tie will be rearranged for a later date – although it is not known when that will be due to a busy January schedule of games for both teams.
Saints have also been affected by Covid-19 cases in the recent past with Ralph Hasenhuttl missing his side’s 0-0 draw with West Ham and goalkeeper Alex McCarthy ruled out of Monday’s win over Liverpool due to a positive test.
Club Statement: Positive Covid-19 test results. #Salop
— Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsburytown) January 6, 2021
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Preparations that were being made for Saturday will not be put into practise by Saints but they and Saints fans will be hoping for a full recovery for all those at Shrewsbury who have tested positive.
An enforced break without a match until the 16th January may even be a good thing for Ralph Hasenhuttl and his side.
Changes would have been expected for the FA Cup tie to ensure first-team minutes for those on the fringes of the senior squad and rest for key players, but now it looks likely that they will have more time to work on their approach for he Premier League clash with Leicester City.
Upcoming midweek fixtures in January mean it is difficult to forecast when the Third-Round tie will be rescheduled for.
After facing Leicester on the 16th, Saints travel to face Leeds the following Wednesday and then return to St Mary’s to take on Arsenal on Tuesday 26th.
Their January games are set to be rounded off by a home clash with Aston Villa on the 30th, with Shrewsbury also having a similar run of fixtures that make any rearrangement difficult to set.