Covid Takes and Gives, One Tottenham Player Out Another In

A positive Covid test for Matt Doherty is bad news for Tottenham but his absence has provided Troy Parrott an opportunity with the Republic of Ireland.

The news is terrible for Tottenham Hotspur, as Matt Doherty has tested positive for Covid and will likely miss out on at least the Manchester City clash on the weekend. However, Doherty’s absence – at least on the Republic of Ireland National Team – is another Spurs gain as Troy Parrott got called up to the senior squad for their final international against Bulgaria.

Doherty Out for a While at Tottenham?

It is difficult to say how long Matt Doherty will be out of action for Tottenham Hotspur, as we know his service to the Republic of Ireland is over for the current break. From here, what happens really depends on a couple things, first is symptoms.

If a person has symptoms things get a bit more complicated and it really is just about the person’s health, well-being, and recovery. Therefore, if Doherty were to develop symptoms, his return is truly unknown as it could be anywhere from a couple days to 20 or more depending on the severity of the infection.

The other option is that Doherty is asymptomatic and shows no symptoms. If that is the case the first step is supposed to be a 10-day self-isolation period. However, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) “criteria for discharge and ending isolation may be adapted for specific groups of patients.”

While the term “specific group of patients” is not defined, it clearly applies to essentially any patient with he means. The key to ending the 10-day isolation early is having “Two consecutive negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test results, ideally in a 24-hour period”. Thus, anyone with the ability to continuously test, can end isolation early.

That said, just because someone has two negative tests does not mean that the club will immediately re-integrate Matt fully into all activities, just that he can leave self-isolation. It will be very interesting to see how Spurs handle Doherty, particularly if he gets a couple of quick negative test results.

As for who else may have been exposed or infected and what that means, we do not want to speculate and you just hope for the best.

Parrott in for Republic of Ireland

Troy Parrott was loaned to Championship side Millwall so he could get experience playing in a senior side. However, after more than 3 months on loan, Parrott only has 45 minutes to his name for Millwall. Troy played the first 45 minutes in the club’s 3rd round EFL Cup loss to Burnley.

However, with several players now out for the Republic of Ireland, Parrott might have caught the break he needs. Parrott is one of four Irish players being called up to the senior team from the U-21 side that has been competing in European qualifiers. While this does not guarantee anything, just the possibility of Parrott getting some senior minutes is a positive thing at this point.

Ideally Parrott gets a real run-out, which would be a spell of 30-minutes or more. If he can do that, stay healthy, and maybe even show a thing or two, it can really help his confidence and show to Millwall, that Parrott can do the job. Sometimes all people need is a chance, let us hope this unfortunate occurrence for Ireland is the chance Troy Parrott needs to get his season on track.