Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter is facing a selection crisis ahead of his side’s home game against Wolves on Wednesday.
Albion have had three players return positive Covid-19 tests whilst they will be without the likes of Lewis Dunk, Jeremy Sarmiento and Adam Webster through injury whilst Shane Duffy is suspended.
But Potter admits that clubs could face a challenging few weeks in the face of the rising infection rate caused by the new Omicron variant.
'You test one day and it's negative, then the following day it's positive'
“We’re all in the same position, it’s something everyone will have to deal with,” Potter told the media.
“First and foremost, the health and safety of the players and everyone around is the most important thing.
“People will miss games because of this, the trick is for it to not be so serious or get too big.
"Antonio Conte [Tottenham head coach] made a good point, you test one day and it’s negative, then the following day it’s positive.
“We are monitoring on a daily basis to make sure we’re not playing guys who have got Covid and are spreading it to the other team. We’ve got to do what we can, keep testing and keep the number of cases as low as possible.”
And Potter also admitted that players need to be able to play in more than one position, with the likes of Joel Veltman being utilised as a centre back in recent weeks.
Unfamiliar positions
Whilst players like Danny Welbeck, Steven Alzate and Adam Lallana are back in training, they are not ready to start a match yet after recovering from injuries themselves.
“We’re probably used to players playing in slightly different positions and I’ve always thought that if you’ve got injuries or problems,” Potter explained.
“It’s not about complaining about them, they are what they are, you have to use your creativity within the group, look for a different solution.
“We haven’t got another Lewis Dunk or Shane Duffy, in terms of attributes, but we can possibly use players in a creative way to help us do the same things.
“To have an organisation defensively, to have a clarity in terms of where we’re pressing or defending.
“It’s a test at the moment, but there’s an opportunity for the boys who have been desperate to play and want to help the team.”
Trossard return?
Potter did reveal some positive news on the injury front, though, with Leandro Trossard available, having been stretchered off at Southampton.
“We won’t have Lewis Dunk available until January, Adam Webster is getting closer and there’s an outside chance of him being available for the weekend.
“Leo Trossard is one of the bits of good news, he’s fine. Adam Lallana has got a good chance of making the bench on Wednesday, whilst Danny Welbeck has made good progress, Wednesday comes too soon for him though.”