Swindon Town Officials Send Classy Message to Man City Following Major COVID-19 Outbreak Ahead of FA Cup Clash

Swindon Town owner Clem Morfuni and CEO Rob Angus have sent their best wishes to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, his backroom staff and players who have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of their FA Cup third-round tie on Friday evening.

Manchester City are set to travel to the south-west for their opening fixture of the FA Cup campaign against Swindon Town at County Ground after sealing a thrilling league win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium at the weekend.

The Premier League champions announced on Thursday afternoon that seven first-team players and 14 backroom staff members, including head coach Pep Guardiola and assistant coach Juanma Lillo, have returned a positive COVID-19 test ahead of the FA Cup opener.

It was further mentioned that assistant coach Rodolfo Borrell will take charge of a depleted Manchester City side for the clash, which is set to go ahead with the Sky Blues not requesting for the game to be called off, according to recent reports.

Amid the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fixture and Manchester City's available group of players, Swindon Town have made a classy gesture towards Pep Guardiola, his managerial staff and the first-team players who are currently isolating after testing positive for COVID-19 this week.

Swindon Town owner Clem Morfuni and CEO Rob Angus wished a speedy recovery to everyone at Manchester City who will miss the trip to Wiltshire on Friday, with the duo further wishing a safe journey to away fans travelling to the game before inviting Guardiola to pay the League Two side a visit in the future.

Rodolfo Borrell, who will be in the dugout for the reigning top-flight champions on Friday, confirmed that Guardiola has very few symptoms and that the Manchester City boss has constantly been in touch with his fellow Spaniard since he entered isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, Borrell said: "We had an outbreak. At the moment, we have seven players unavailable, up to 14 staff members. That's a big outbreak. We are getting it day by day, I don't know where it will end.

"All of us, all the clubs are suffering. Some right now, some later. We cope as best we can. We are going back to the protocols from the beginning of the pandemic, minimise the risk at the training facility.

"There is anxiety because we have to test, people are suspecting who will be today, one, two, three less? It's normal like any job or any club. We are coping, trying to establish the protocols and taking it day by day."

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