Hibs down to eight fit players as chief executive Ben Kensell reveals impact of Covid-19 outbreak

Hibs have just eight fit and available players following the Covid-19 outbreak that has swept through the Easter Road side over the last week or so, chief executive Ben Kensell has revealed.

Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell

The Hibs chief spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon to shed some light on the events of the past few days.

Hibs requested a postponement of their Scottish Premiership match against Ross County at the Global Energy Stadium on Saturday October 30 after two players returned positive tests for coronavirus on the morning of the match.

Discussions with the SPFL and the Staggies led to the match being rearranged for the evening of Wednesday November 3 but further positive cases in the first-team squad and within the club’s development side forced a second postponement, with Saturday’s trip to Livingston also called off until a later date.

Kensell said: “We have eight players who have given positive PCR tests, plus a further seven in our development squad, so ultimately we have 15 players directly affected.

“A further four players are indirectly affected through close contacts or their vaccination status. And we have a large injury list, so that only gives us eight players over the age of 18 available. In addition, three members of staff are affected.”

The club has shut down their training centre with Kensell confident that the virus has been contained in both the senior and youth squads.

The affected individuals are all self-isolating, with training cancelled until Monday November 8 and East Mains closed for a deep clean.

Hibs are next in action against Rangers at Hampden in the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup on November 21.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.