Injuries leaves one club with no choice but to postpone their upcoming League One clash, which was set to be played on Saturday afternoon.
Doncaster Rovers have made use of an option in English Football League regulations which allowed them to postpone their upcoming game due to having seen three players called up for international duty, according to Doncaster Free Press
However, despite the absence of goalkeeper Josef Bursik, left-back Danny Amos and striker Tyreece John-Jules, manager Darren Moore insists he was planning on Rovers playing the fixture this weekend.
That was made impossible after Reece James picked up a knee injury in the defeat to Wigan Athletic which would have made him doubtful for Saturday.
Jason Lokilo and Rayhaan Tulloch are also sidelined because of injury, and the South Yorkshire outfit faced an EFL Trophy clash with Oldham Athletic on Tuesday, so Moore decided it was best no to risk his side being too short of numbers for the clash with the Salop.
“I was desperate to play the game,” Moore told the Free Press. “We took every precaution and checked on Reece on Sunday.
“Our intention was clear to play the game, without a doubt and keep the momentum and the continuity going.
“Sometimes these things are taken out of your hands and the next best thing you can do is consider everything.
“We’ve got a squad and a group of players but anything could happen at Oldham.
“We’d have missed the deadline for calling it off and we’d have kicked ourselves if something did happen.
“The intention was to play the game and had Reece come through fit and well then we wouldn’t be talking like this and we’d be looking forward to another game at the weekend.
“As it is, I’ve had to take that measure to call the game off.
“We regroup again and we continue to work extremely hard. We can put some workload into the players because when we do resume the league programme against Portsmouth, it will be a busy few months.”
Moore says left back James would only have been rated 50-50 to be available for Saturday if the Shrewsbury game was to go ahead.
Now he looks forward to his next game, against Portsmouth next week, which he’s confident of going ahead.
“Reece got a knock on his patella which has inflamed and caused a bit of swelling around his knee,” he said.
Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell says he’s still expecting Saturday’s game against Wigan Athletic to go ahead despite four Railwaymen players testing positive for coronavirus.
They called off last Saturday’s league game against Oxford United with just over 30 minutes remaining until kick off.
Defender Omar Beckles returned a positive test in the lead-up to the game. He was notified of having it early on Saturday morning, with both clubs preparing for what would have been their fourth league game of the 2020/21 season.
This was after travelling down on the Crewe team coach the previous day.
The two most recent players, who have not been named, will now join Beckles and Ryan Wintle on the sidelines as they now go into self-isolation for 10 days in accordance with Government guidelines.
Crewe boss David Artell says he has not heard anything from the EFL in regards to the game taking place or not in light of the recent positive tests, adding that the decision will rest with the league.
He does not see any reason why the match cannot be played but believes with the fixture congestion already in place for the 2020/21 campaign, postponed games are not something which is desirable, but admits that safety must come first.
?️ | David Artell previews Wigan Athletic challenge ⤵️#CreweAlex pic.twitter.com/mgG1GOoZaA
— Crewe Alexandra (@crewealexfc) October 7, 2020
He told the club’s website: “We have not heard anything yet in regards to the Wigan game. We are cracking on with training and isolated those who have come back with a positive test.
“I cannot see any reason why the game cannot take place but the decision will rest with the EFL. We have provided the test results and made clear all the procedures we have in place.
“The fixtures are already congested and we don’t have that many Tuesday night’s free, so I am sure the EFL won’t want too many games postponed.
“It is no one’s fault. It is going to happen and we are not the only club to have suffered with this.
“I think we acted responsibly by telling Oxford and with this virus, it doesn’t matter if it happens on Saturday morning, an hour before kick-off or 10 minutes before kick-off, the right decisions have to be made because the safety of everyone is paramount.”
Artell added: “It has been a crazy, unexpected few days for us all. It has been tough. The players and staff were all tested over the weekend and we have had a couple of positives tests.
“They will self-isolate for 10 days and although they can’t do much, we will set them a programme to keep them as fit as we can. They are all in disbelief because they have no symptoms, but this is the nature of the virus.
“It is amongst us, but the majority of the tests are negative, so there is a bit of comfort in the fact that our procedures and practices are in place and seem to be working.
“Of course, the timing of Omar’s test was terrible and like I’ve said on Saturday, the right decision was made.”
EFL FIXTURES GOING AHEAD THIS WEEKEND
LEAGUE ONE
Friday – Fleetwood Town v Hull City (live on Sky)
Saturday – Accrington Stanley v Rochdale
Saturday – Blackpool v Ipswich Town
Saturday – Crewe Alexandra v Wigan Athletic
Saturday – Gillingham v Oxford United
Saturday – Lincoln City v Bristol Rovers
Saturday – Northampton Town v Peterborough United
Saturday – Plymouth Argyle v Burton Albion
Saturday – Portsmouth v Milton Keynes Dons
Saturday – Swindon Town v AFC Wimbledon
LEAGUE TWO
Saturday – Barrow v Leyton Orient
Saturday – Bolton Wanderers v Grimsby Town
Saturday – Cambridge United v Newport County
Saturday – Cheltenham Town v Crawley Town
Saturday – Mansfield Town v Stevenage
Saturday – Oldham Athletic v Morecambe
Saturday – Port Vale v Carlisle United
Saturday – Salford City v Tranmere Rovers
Saturday – Scunthorpe United v Forest Green Rovers
Saturday – Southend United v Exeter City
Saturday – Walsall v Colchester United
Monday – Bradford City v Harrogate Town (live on Sky)
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