BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche will miss Saturday’s FA Cup tie with Huddersfield after testing positive for Covid earlier this week.
The Clarets manager is believed to have discovered the news on Tuesday – a couple of days after their defeat at Leeds.
It means his No2 Ian Woan will prepare the Lancashire club for the third-round clash with the Terriers at Turf Moor.
And Dyche will be absent from media duties on Thursday afternoon – the first time he has not done his press call since he took charge in October 2012.
However Burnley hope he will be ready to return to their Gawthorpe HQ in the middle of next week.
That means he will be able to take training ahead of the crucial game with Leicester on Saturday week.
The Clarets are one of the Prem clubs who are yet to request a postponement – even though they had matches against Watford, Aston Villa and Everton called off by their opponents.
However Ben Mee, Maxwel Cornet and Dale Stephens have all had to isolate recently while Nick Pope, Jay Rodriguez, Kevin Long and Josh Brownhill have also missed matches through illness.
Under Dyche, Burnley have traditionally rested key players for the domestic cups, preferring to focus on maintaining their Prem status instead.
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They have won just one game all season and face a huge battle to secure a seventh straight season in the top flight next term.
But Dyche isn’t the only Prem manager that’s had to miss a game recently due to a positive Covid test.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was absent from the Gunners dugout for their 2-1 loss to Manchester City after being struck with the virus.
Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp also had to sit out of the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Chelsea when he had to self-isolate.
And now, the Kop giants Carabao Cup tie against the Gunners has been postponed as Klopp’s assistant Pep Lijnders has also caught Covid.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk