Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe confirmed his side struggled to prepare for their fixture against Manchester United on Monday due to positive Covid cases.
Newcastle could only name eight substitutes and among them were two goalkeepers and two youth players as the club battled to name a full squad.
Everton take on Newcastle on December 30 having not played on Boxing Day due to a Covid outbreak and a raft of injuries among their own squad.
The Premier League confirmed in a statement that they accepted Everton's request to call the game off 'following further injuries to their squad.
They concluded that the club were not able to fulfil their fixture this weekend as a result of ';an insufficient number of players available to play due to COVID-19 cases and injuries.'
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Speaking before Newcastle's match against United, Howe said that his squad were 'stretched' due to the number of players missing.
“It's been difficult in the preparation for today. We've got a mixture of injuries and Covid cases. The squad is stretched but we're making the best of the situation. We want to play and hopefully we give a really good account of ourselves.”
As it stands, Thursday's game at Goodison Park between Everton and Newcastle is going ahead.
