Covid outbreak shuts down Aston Villa’s training ground

Aston Villa have closed their Bodymoor Heath training ground following a “significant Coronavirus outbreak” putting their FA Cup tie with Liverpool into doubt.

Villa were set to host Liverpool in the third round of the cup tomorrow night, but after a large number of positive Covid-19 tests on Monday, the club made the decision to close their training ground after a second round of testing produced even more positive results today.

First team training has been canceled and a club statment confirmed discussions with the Premier League and FA are ongoing, but Villa may struggle to fulfill the fixture after the FA reaffirmed rules last week that if clubs can’t form a 14 man squad, their opponents will likely get a bye into the next round.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool becomes the second tie of the round to be postponed after Southampton vs Shrewsbury and it also casts doubt over their upcoming league fixtures against Tottenham, Everton and Manchester City.

Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2021