25 positive coronavirus tests in a week for Rotherham United

The Millers returned to Championship action last night and fielded a depleted team at home to Watford after being forced to postpone their previous three matches because of the outbreak sweeping through their camp.

The EFL said 25 positive tests had been found among 5,533 players and staff from the governing body's 72 clubs, with 71 teams teams unaffected.

The tests covered the period from Monday March 8 to Sunday March 14 and may have included Rotherham players and staff who had first shown to be positive the previous week.

That means the number of people infected may actually be below the 25 figure.

Assistant manager Richie Barker took charge of Rotherham's  defeat defeat against Watford as Paul Warne is in self-isolation. Warne will also sit out Saturday's clash at Bristol.

The Millers are facing a fixture backlog after also having to call off five matches earlier in the campaign because of coronavirus or bad weather.

Barker said after the 4-1 defeat: "It was not an ideal scenario to come back after one day's training and play against a former Premier League team who I am sure will be there or thereabouts in terms of promotion.

"We are running out of time to fit games in and we needed to get this one over and done with."

Rotherham, who are 22nd in the Championship table and six points away from safety after Birmingham City's win over Reading tonight, have played four games fewer than six of the seven teams directly above them.

An EFL statement read: "The EFL can confirm that a total of 5,533 players and staff from all 72 EFL clubs were tested as part of last week’s testing programme, with 25 positive cases returned.

"A twice-weekly Covid mandatory testing programme is now in place for all 72 clubs, with today’s results covering all tests undertaken from Monday March 8 to Sunday March 14.

"71 EFL clubs returned zero positive tests over this period."