Antonio Conte has confirmed eight players of Tottenham’s first-team squad and five staff members have tested positive for coronavirus.
Spurs host Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, with UEFA regulations meaning the match cannot be postponed unless a club has fewer than 13 players or no registered goalkeeper available.
A victory against their French opposition, who are already assured to finish top of the group, is required to stand a chance of qualifying for the last 32, but Conte expects more confirmed cases.
“The situation makes me very upset because the situation is serious,” Conte said.
“It’s contagious and there is a big infection. Now we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what will happen.”
All European group stage matches must be completed by the end of 2021, with the club already facing a busy festive schedule leaving no obvious window to rearrange the fixture.
Conte said he now has 11 players available after one first-team member tested positive following training on Wednesday along with a member of staff, describing the situation as “so strange and incredible”.
Those cases followed two similar results on Tuesday after the initial outbreak.
Conte did not reveal whether the club will contact the Premier League about Sunday’s game at Brighton over a possible postponement.
The Italian added: “Tomorrow, who? Me? I don’t know. Better me than a player for sure. It is not right for everyone because we have contact with our family when we come back home.”
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