According to Simon Johnson of The Athletic, Chelsea have cancelled training today, Thursday March 12th. Someone closely connected to the squad complained of symptoms commonly linked to COVID-19 (ed.note: which are basically the same as the flu in most cases, it should be noted).
The club has taken proactive measures and cancelled all Thursday sessions before players had arrived. The person complaining of symptoms has yet to be confirmed with COVID-19.
As this situation is evolving, it is not clear how this impacts pre-match training on Friday (set to go ahead, for now), travel arrangements to Birmingham, or the match against Aston Villa this upcoming Saturday.
There are already fears about how the remaining Premier League schedule will play out, if at all. As of right now, there is a strong possibility that the remaining matches will be played behind closed doors without a live audience.
Chelsea’s upcoming Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich is already set to be played without fans next Wednesday.
Stay safe out there.
Exclusive from @TheAthleticUK...#CFC preparations for match against #avfc seriously undermined after training was cancelled on Thursday due to coronavirus scare. More here: https://t.co/kVTmvEawIr
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) March 12, 2020