Lithuania will be without new manager Valdas Ivanauskas for Thursday night’s crucial World Cup qualifier with Northern Ireland after the 55-year-old tested positive for Covid-19.
Ivanauskas, who was appointed last month, was due to lead out the national team for the first time in the Group C showdown in Vilnius.
But the Lithuanian Football Federation confirmed on Wednesday that the former Hearts manager would be missing from the dugout after returning a “positive” test following a mandatory round of testing.
A statement on the federation’s official website stated: “Before the match, all players and staff members of the national team were subjected to mandatory COVID-19 tests.
“After the test, one positive answer was received - the virus was diagnosed to the head coach of the national team Valdas Ivanauskas.”
The results for the other players and staff of the Lithuanian team were negative, so Thursday night’s qualifier can proceed in line with established protocols.
Lithuania will be overseen by assistant coach Tomas Ražanauskas, with Ivanauskas also set to miss his country’s away fixtures with Bulgaria and Italy on September 5 and 8.
Ražanauskas said: “It is not good for us but the work continues. There are situations in life where things don’t go the way you want them to.
“More importantly, the coach feels great and he doesn’t feel any symptoms. On the first day of testing, as soon as it was gathered, everything was fine, there was another test today and a positive response appeared.
"The team understands that nothing changes, whether I’m sitting here or another person."
On Northern Ireland, Ražanauskas said: "Maybe they don't have very strong players individually, but they play very well as a team. They are also physically strong and fast.”
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