Huddersfield Town’s Carlos Corberan sees no positives in taking ‘circuit break’

A rise in Coronavirus cases across English football, but particularly in the Premier League and League One, have prompted debate about whether games should be suspended for a period. Huddersfield Town coach Corberan is against the idea.

Seven out of 12 League One games were postponed on Tuesday and Rochdale have become the latest side to suffer positive tests, causing their club doctor to question the wisdom of playing on.

Doncaster Rovers have not played since December 22, and are not due to do so again until the FA Cup third-round trip to Blackburn Rovers a week on Saturday. Hull City’s game against Charlton Athletic on Saturday is set to be their first since December 18.

Meanwhile, two Premier League fixtures were called off this week because of Covid, with only one having fallen foul before Christmas.

Calling games off would cause big logistical problems, and even a two-week shutdown would need time on the training ground to recover from.

English football came to a complete halt during the first lockdown, between March and mid-June, causing unavoidable knock-on problems for this season, but elite sport was given an exemption to play on through the second, pre-Christmas lockdown, and what is now effectively for many parts of the country a third.

“I think first of all I would like to see the fans in the stadium,” said Corberan. “We saw them in Bournemouth (when the Terriers played at then-Tier 2 Dean Court) and it was a positive feeling. They are the reason we are playing the games, they give meaning to our job.

“But the situation is not under control, not only here but across the world, so we need to be a little bit patient and adapt.

“I am not thinking this can be a solution but I want us to continue playing football and I want us to play in the safest conditions for the players.

“If we need to be a little bit more patient to see our fans in the stadium we will be but it’s never positive to take a break in football because it means Covid is winning the battle again.”

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