NEWCASTLE Jets coach Ash Wilson remains confident her squad will recover in time for next round despite a dozen players testing positive for COVID-19 and a second straight A-League Women's fixture being postponed.
The fourth-placed Jets will no longer host Melbourne Victory at Newcastle's No.2 Sportsground on Friday following the club's worst coronavirus outbreak to date.
It comes after Newcastle missed a match against a COVID-impacted City side in the Victorian capital last weekend.
Wilson believes the 12 individuals, which leaves more than half the Jets playing group currently in isolation, should be fit to meet Perth Glory at home on January 16.
She expects to see "most of them out by Friday".
"We've sent them gym and aerobic type programs to try and make sure they are still doing things so when they come out their bodies haven't lost certain elements of conditioning and they're able to adapt a bit better to the increase in training load when they get back," Wilson told the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday.
"The fact that most of them will be out by Friday and our game against Perth isn't until the following Sunday, that'll give us at least five or six sessions with them leading into that game to make sure we're continuing to load them in an appropriate way where we'll have people available."
Wilson has been in contact with the sidelined players, who are experiencing a range of symptoms.
"I touched base with them all yesterday. They're in good spirits. Obviously some of them are still experiencing some symptoms which is understandable because everyone is going to react different to it," she said.
"They're positive, taking each day as it comes and feeling better than when it first started. We're continuing to monitor them daily."
Kirsty Fenton, who was struck down with COVID before Christmas, returned in the Jets' most recent outing on December 27.
Outstanding matches have yet to be rescheduled.
