Aston Villa manager Steve Gerrard revealed on Thursday that a player from the club had locked himself in his car and refused to come out because he thought he had Covid-19 symptoms.

Premier League has been hit by the coronavirus outbreak. Outbreaks at clubs underscore the worsening health emergency in Britain as the omicron variant spreads.

Ten league games have been postponed so far this month due to outbreaks, including Aston Villa vs Burnley, and at least 90 new COVID-19 cases were detected among players and staff in the past week.

But clubs have still agreed to fulfil the busy festive fixture schedule of the Premier League. Aston Villa will host Chelsea on December 26 and travel to Leeds two days later.

“We had a situation at the weekend where one of the players was reluctant to get out of his car because he had some symptoms and he’s got a young family, and you can totally understand his view in his situation,” Gerrard said.

“This is a guy who’s got a young family, it is Christmas time, and that’s the situation everyone is in. No one wants to get this virus. Everyone wants to protect their own families. This is our job and your priority is always going to be your family, of course it is.

“Thankfully he was tested after and he didn’t have a situation, but that player would not have been available for me on the day, and these are the little situations that people don’t see. We’ve got a major responsibility to listen to the players and deal with every situation as it comes your way,” Gerrard said.

All the top-flight managers are going to meet with the Premier League officials to discuss the future course of action amid the Covid outbreak in the tournament.