Sheffield United pre-season in chaos as first-team to self-isolate and two players left behind in SPAIN

SHEFFIELD UNITED’s plans for the new season are in chaos after the first-team squad was forced to self-isolate.

A forward and reserve keeper tested positive for Covid-19 on a pre-season camp in Spain.

The duo were left behind while the rest of the squad was cleared to return to the UK.

Players will self-isolate for ten days to check if they are also positive.

The exiled pair face an anxious wait before they are allowed to travel.

And the normal fitness programme has been replaced by home exercise.

United have friendlies against Doncaster and Norwich before the August 7 kick-off.

The news comes just days before Monday's 'Freedom Day', which will see pandemic restrictions lifted.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s plan to lift virtually all of England’s pandemic restrictions has been slammed as a risk to the world by 1200 scientists.

Michael Baker - a professor of public health at the University of Otago and a member of the New Zealand ministry of health’s Covid-19 technical advisory group - is disappointed with the UK's lack of leadership in the public health crisis.

He said: "In New Zealand we have always looked to the UK for leadership when it comes to scientific expertise, which is why it’s so remarkable that it is not following even basic public health principles."

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The Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, has also returned a positive test for Covid-19 on Saturday and will spend the next ten days in isolation.

Several top ministers could now be forced to isolate as a result.

The double-vaxxed Javid broke the news on Twitter, stating that his symptoms are "Mild".