Official: Steven Gerrard to miss Chelsea, Leeds games due to positive COVID test

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard will not be on the sideline for our next two games after testing positive for COVID-19.

Villa face Chelsea at home on Boxing Day before travelling to Leeds Utd on Tuesday, and as per the club’s official site, Gerrard will be unable to attend either game.

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Further, it remains to be seen if both fixtures even still go ahead as with countless players contracting COVID and a string of other games being postponed again this weekend, time will tell if all sides involved are able to field teams to ensure the game stays on.

Should they do so, it’s a blow for Villa to not have Gerrard on the touchline to give out instructions to the players, as his presence and influence have been key in our turnaround since his arrival, particularly in terms of his half-time talks as we’ve certainly responded well in the second half of recent games when not performing at our best.

Nevertheless, he’ll hope to have as many of his staff members available at the game to carry out his strategy and plans, while it’s hoped that Villa aren’t missing many, if any, key individuals, having been forced to postpone our previous encounter with Burnley last week.

Villa come into this game off the back of an impressive win over Norwich City, but given that clash was back on December 14, it certainly makes it difficult to take that confidence and momentum into this fixture with Chelsea, such has been the time out for the players in between outings.