Coronavirus outbreak forces Ajax to head to Midtjylland with only 17 players

Ajax will be forced to head to Midtjylland with only 17 players after seeing their squad decimated by a coronavirus outbreak.

Erik ten Hag is facing a selection crisis ahead of his side's latest Champions League outing in Denmark on Tuesday.

Ajax will be looking for their first Champions League win of the season when they take on Midtjylland, having lost 1-0 at home to Liverpool before being held to a 2-2 draw by Atalanta in Italy.

However, Ten Hag's usual 23-man squad has been reduced by six, amid reports that 11 players from the first and second team have tested positive for Covid-19.

Ajax have released an official statement confirming that just 17 players will make the trip to the MCH Arena, with Ryan Gravenberch, Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic, Andre Onana and Maarten Stekelenburg the most notable absentees.

Third-choice goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen is the only shot-stopper to make the final squad, meaning Ten Hag will have to choose an outfield player to fill in between the sticks in the event of the 20-year-old suffering an injury or being sent off.

Ajax can move level on points with Atalanta in Group D with a win over Midtjylland, but only if Liverpool beat the Serie A outfit at the Gewiss Stadium on the same night.

The Dutch outfit will be hoping to build on an impressive 5-2 win against Fortuna Sittard on Saturday, which saw them move top of the Eredivisie on goal difference, ahead of Vitesse.

Ajax have won six of their seven domestic outings at the start of the 2020-21 campaign, with a 13-0 win away at VVV Venlo marking their most eye-catching display.

Ten Hag became the first Ajax boss since Johan Cruyff to reach at least 250 goals in 82 games in charge after the win over Fortuna, having inherited the managerial reins back in 2017.

The four-time European Cup winners will be back in Eredivisie action when they take on Utrecht on Sunday, before taking in a well-earned rest as the international break comes into effect.