A fourth straight Bristol Rovers fixture has fallen victim to Covid-19 with the Gas' New Year's Day trip to Leyton Orient postponed just five hours before kick-off.
Joey Barton had revealed in his press conference on Friday that he was waiting on PCR tests and could be down to just one fit defender in Nick Anderton, following a Covid outbreak across Christmas which has meant Rovers haven't played a game since December 11.
As of Friday night, Bristol Live was reassured at both ends that the game was going ahead and some club staff were travelling to London on Saturday morning but at 10am confirmation came, at Rovers request, that the fixture couldn't be fulfilled.
EFL rules state that a game can go ahead should a team be able to field 14 players, including a goalkeeper, but it would appear that's not the case with the Gas' depleted ranks.
"The club has had to take the decision in light of unforseen illnesses in the Rovers first-team squad this morning," a statement read. "Despite this extremely disappointing situation, we have continued to work hard within COVID-19 guidelines and only took this measure to ensure the health and safety of our players and staff.
"The club has worked hard to ensure that it has been able to fulfil the fixture.
"However, taking into account the injuries and positive COVID-19 cases with the squad, the club does not have a sufficient number of players available in order to fulfil the fixture.
"We understand that this late postponement will cause disruption and upset to our travelling fans and we can only further apologise for any issues caused. A rearranged date for this fixture will be announced in the near future."
That means Rovers face a huge backlog of fixtures with plenty more midweek games likely to be scheduled once some normality returns. The Gas will next be in action against Peterborough United in the FA Cup third round next Saturday.
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