Steve Clarke's Scotland heroes have been placed on code red amid fears their plans for the Euros could be ripped apart by a potential Covid outbreak.
The SFA confirmed yesterday that Sheffield United’s John Fleck will not face Holland in the Algarve tonight after testing positive for coronavirus at Clarke’s training camp in Spain - and being left behind to begin a period of self isolation which could last for up to ten days.
But, despite Clarke insisting publicly yesterday that the situation is contained and under control, Record Sport understands the national boss and his medical team are now bracing themselves for the possibility that more of his men may have been infected.
Sources close to the camp have told us Covid protocols have been ramped up ahead of the game against the Dutch - who were also reeling yesterday when boss Frank de Boer chose to axe first choice keeper Jasper Cillessen from his squad after the Valencia No.1 posted a positive test.
And Clarke will be left crossing his fingers over the course of the next 72 hours that no more positives are uncovered inside his own group.
A source told Record Sport : “The next three days will be critical. The squad all tested negative on Tuesday morning but the medical team will want to see another round of negatives before the Holland game and again the following day before they can relax.
“Only at that point will they feel the risk of spread has been reduced so for the time being it’s a code red situation for everyone.”
It’s understood Spanish health experts have advised that Fleck will be free to return to Clarke’s squad ahead of the 10 days ban but only if he twice tests negative for the killer disease.
Fleck’s diagnosis was flagged up after arriving at the Scotland base in Spain – but health chiefs are convinced the Covid contracted before he left the UK.
Clarke insisted there was no need for alarm bells as the protocols are in place and the rest of the group returned negative results on three occasions.
But the scare has highlighted the tightrope squads are having to tread as the pandemic continues to disrupt going in to the major finals.
Clarke said: “We don’t know how it happened. But we’re 99.9 percent sure that John would have had it before he came to Spain with the incubation period.
“Hopefully it’s a one-off and an isolated case.
“I’ve spoken to John, he’s fine and has no symptoms. We’ll try and make his time stuck in his room as good as possible for him.
“We’ll get an exercise bike into his room and keep him moving. And we’ll look after him, that’s all we can do.
“I’ve always said it, when we’ve been coming up against teams who have had outbreaks, that it could be us at any time.
“It’s unconfirmed but I’ve also heard that the Dutch have had to send a player home for similar reasons.
“It’s out there. You’re going to have to deal with it and be reactive.
“That’s why UEFA decided on bigger squads with an opportunity to replace players right up until the first match. Nobody can control what’s out there with this virus.
“All we can do is try and control our own environment and mitigate the risk as much as possible. And also continue good training work.
“But as a group we want to be close, but not too close. We want to continue that without losing the team spirit by keeping players stuck in their bedrooms.
“We just need to get the work done that we need from these training days. Let’s not forget we have two friendly games – against Holland and Luxembourg – which are important. We want to work on things and give players game time as well as look at things tactically.
“We want to be in the best possible shape going into the first game against the Czech Republic on June 14.
“We don’t really want that situation to be the big story. The big story is that we’re in camp and had a fantastic time up until now. The training has been good, everything has been top notch, and the only thing we haven’t really controlled very well is the weather.”
Clarke’s men will head to their UK HQ in Middlesbrough next week and he revealed there’s no option to return to Scotland instead despite the Czechs and Croatia pulling out of their Scottish camps at he Orium and St Andrews amid quarantine fears.
The boss said: “It’s not possible. We had already signed the contracts. I am delighted with the facilities at Rockliffe and at Middlesbrough I think it will be a fantastic base for the tournament for us.”
