David de Gea has been given the green light to play for Manchester United against Tottenham after a Covid-19 testing issue, GOAL can confirm.
The Spaniard has started all of United’s Premier League games this season but looked set to miss out after returning a positive Covid test.
He has since tested negative and has been cleared to take his place between the posts at kick-off.
What do we know?
As part of Premier League protocols, teams are required to carry out regular Covid tests and it is understood that De Gea’s initially showed up as positive.
Dean Henderson, who has only played three times this season, was expected to step up and start against Spurs on Saturday evening, with De Gea seemingly ruled out.
However, it is understood De Gea has since tested negative and the club managed to resolve the 'testing issue' ahead of kick-off to enable the Spaniard can play.
Does anyone else at Man Utd have Covid?
This isn’t the first time United have been affected by 'false positives'. The same thing happened during pre-season and they had to cancel a friendly they had arranged against Preston North End.
Luke Shaw is set to miss the game against Tottenham as he is still returning positive Covid results. But it is understood that it is not a widespread problem throughout the squad.
What is the other team news?
Ralf Rangnick said in his press conference on Friday that he expects Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani to be available for the crunch clash against Tottenham.
The game could prove significant in the battle for the top four, with the Red Devils, who are currently fifth in the table, knowing they can ill-afford to drop further points before the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
Centre-back Raphael Varane should also be available, after he missed the Manchester derby, but Scott McTominay is expected to miss out with a calf problem.
