Thomas Tuchel’s side were due to take on Drogheda United during their preparations in Ireland, in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday. However, the match has been cancelled after Chelsea announced there is a potential Covid-positive player in the squad.What makes the whole situation more nail-biting is the fact that the announcement came just hours after the Blues team were seen joking around in large groups at their Thursday training session.A training game was put on by Tuchel after which several Blues players hugged each other in the excitement of competing within the group.Unfortunately, now the west Londoners are ‘investigating’ the possible positive case that could turn their pre-season plans into disaster.’Earlier today, we had a possible positive Covid case which we are investigating,’ a club statement read.'(The) individual (is) isolated from rest of group. Also (it is) decided, as precaution, to cancel tonight’s closed doors game against Drogheda.’ Absolute chaos! 🤣 pic.twitter.com/gUPhApH33b— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 22, 2021 Chelsea are not alone in this unenviable situation. Arsenal also had to make cancelations – their tour of the United States was called off after several positive coronavirus cases emerged amongst Gunners.Reigning Premier League Champions Manchester City had to cancel a friendly with French side Troyes on Wednesday due to coronavirus travel rules. After such a turn of events, Pep Guardiola’s players are set to play just two games before their Premier League opener on August 15 against Tottenham.Chelsea’s week-long pre-season training camp in Ireland was set to culminate with a friendly against Bournemouth on July 27. A reminder, several of their first-team stars are still on holiday since they all participated in continental tournament finals with their respective national teams (Mount, Jorginho, Emerson, James, Chilwell – EURO 2020 – and Thiago Silva – Copa America).Arsenal’s preparations disrupted – pre-season USA tour canceled due to Covid19 cases within the squadChelsea had 17 footballers competing at the European Championship this summer, more than any other Premier League squad.These absences created room for many young players and forgotten first-team stars such as Barkley, Loftus-Cheek and Drinkwater to sharpen their form during the pre-season matches.As a precautionary measure, the club decided to end their pre-season Ireland tour early – the squad has flown back to London and preparations for the upcoming season will continue at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.The London Blues start their Premier League season against Crystal Palace on August 14 at Stamford Bridge. Before the opener, Chelsea take on Arsenal and Tottenham in London friendlies at the beginning of August, while their UEFA Super Cup clash against Villarreal takes place three days before they face the Eagles of south London.
