Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has urged the footballing authorities to step up and help them and other Premier League clubs combat problems surrounding COVID-19 travel restrictions. With the international break now on the horizon, managers across the country are poised to encounter complications regarding the return of their players once they have finished representing their countries.
The Premier League announced earlier this week that they had implemented a blanked decision that will block players from travelling to red-list countries during the break.
Under official UK guidelines, players would then have to isolate for 10 days in government-approved hotels when returning to England.
Clubs have put pressure on the Premier League to pursue the scrapping of quarantine regulations for elite athletes but instead of complying and fighting their corner, they ruled that players would not be allowed to travel at all.
The decision is affecting Tottenham and the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United and could cause disruption ahead of the next round of Premier League fixtures in two weeks’ time.
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“We know what it means for all of the players to play for their national teams. It’s something they’re very proud of, so what we are trying to do is anticipate the situations.
“So expecting that not only for the next international break but also there will be a couple more, so we need to be clear.”
Liverpool have been forced to step in and stop Mohamed Salah from playing in Egypt’s matches against Angola and Gabon.
The Reds are also expected to block Brazilian duo Alisson and Fabinho from representing their country in upcoming World Cup qualifiers – Roberto Firmino has now suffered a hamstring injury.
Nuno continued: “Is there any player when they are called up for their national team they say no?”
“We are trying to anticipate the damage and working on that as a club.”
He admits they will have to quarantine, adding: “We are trying to find the best way to have the players sooner when they return.”