'We've only had five that haven't had COVID' reports A-League coach

Melbourne City head coach Patrick Kisnorbo described the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak that hit his A-League squad over the last two weeks.

Melbourne City had its last A-League games in December postponed after a COVID-19 outbreak spread through their team. Head coach Patrick Kisnorbo spoke today, ahead of City's FFA Cup mid-week match against Wellington Phoenix, describing just how hard hit his side had been.

Melbourne City COVID-19 Outbreak

Head coach Patrick Kisnorbo stated that all but five players had tested positive for COVID.
Two young players remain in isolation at present according to the head coach.
Kisnorbo was unsure as to how many players would be available for tomorrow's FFA Cup Quarter-Final.

More A-League news can be found on FTBL.

"We've only had maybe five (players) that haven't had COVID. The rest have had COVID.

"It has been a difficult times for us," said Kisnorbo when describing his team's recent COVID-19 outbreak.

The outbreak is not finished within City's squad, with Kisnorbo stating that "two young boys" were still affected by COVID and isolating.

Most of the head coach's team has started to return to training. However, Kisnorbo is unsure as to the number that could be available for selection in the club's upcoming FFA Cup clash against Wellington Phoenix.

"The players have been hungry to get back training to start with. Obviously being at home for seven to ten days without moving, I am sure it is a difficult time.

"They have been great since they have come in to train. They are hungry.

"But how they end up or how they feel after football, I don't know. After a 90 minute game is completely different. That is why we have to manage it day by day."

"It has been crazy," added Kisborno about the current situation and his possible selection. "We won't really know exactly what we have until after training. We have boys returning but how they feel I do not know.

"Some of the boys have only been training for two days. We haven't had a lot of preparations. We're going to be unknown. We have to adapt."

The adaptation itself has been something unlike anything he has seen in his career stated Kisborno, adding that the A-League's squad sizes makes the current pandemic even more difficult to manage.

"My first year in coaching I had injuries and red cards. Now we have a virus.

"I know it is the current world at the moment but it is difficult with us in the A-League because our squads, unlike Europe who have 40 or 50, we only have a squad of 23.

"It is very difficult in these kind of climate. But what do we do.

"We keep going and make sure that the players health is most important. If players are ok to play, if not, we cannot do much about that."

The coach did add about the upcoming game "We will approach this game like every other game.

"The expectation is that it could be an opportunity for some players to come in and get a chance.

"We go into every game trying to do what we want to do, what we need to do, follow our processes.

"Who starts is irrelevant. The main thing is that we have healthy players."

Melbourne City play Wellington Phoenix at the Kingston Heath Soccer Complex in the FFA Cup Quarter-Final. The match is scheduled for 7:40PM AEDT on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 and can be viewed live on 10Play.