Steve Bruce admits Newcastle United have been a 'bit anxious' after three individiuals in and around the club's training bubble showed symptoms of COVID-19.
Pllayers and staff are tested once a week for coronavirus and the Magpies currently have three employees self-isolating away from the training ground.
Bruce did not want to reveal the identity of the individuals concerned 'out of respect' but acknowledged that the black-and-whites have to 'manage that' ahead of Friday's trip to Crystal Palace.
With others absent, Ben Dawson, the club's head of coaching, filled in and sat on the bench against Chelsea last week and Bruce confirmed both his staff and players had been affected by the recent outbreak.
"My job is to make sure the staff stay safe, too," he told reporters on Zoom. "Unfortunately, it's in my staff as well. Look, we're all going to have to manage it.
"It is what it is but it's another distraction. One player, in particular, would have played so there's nothing we can do about it."
It is not exactly clear when the outbreak happened, and whether it was a consequence of players being on international duty, but the club have seen a rise in cases in the last couple of weeks.
Newcastle have had the same protocols in place for eight months, which had been working well, and Bruce admitted he 'felt like a scientist at the moment'.
"Look, you can be a non-international and unfortunately pick it up," he added. "As I said, it's the first time now where we're a bit anxious because we've had three in a week. In and around the training bubble.
"It's not great but, then again, I've heard Premier League teams had something like 12 last week in the group. So we'll have to manage the group and respect it for what it is, but it is difficult."
