Swine flu (or H1N1 as it is properly known) has been hitting the headlines on both sides of the Atlantic for a while now. But now it has apparently found its way to Blackburn Rovers, with at least 3 players being ruled out of the English Premiership club’s Carling Cup tie against Petersborough on Tuesday.
Manager Sam Allardyce confirmed the fact to the BBC but would not name the players involved, although on the club website it is stated that a “virus” was to blame for David Dunn and Chris Samba missing the Saturday 5-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.
At the same press conference Big Sam said the team only decided to play at Stamford Bridge at the weekend because Premiership rules held them to the fixture, and according to Allardyce he was told it was too late on Friday to call the game off, even if other players were at risk for contracting the virus.
No so, say the league. A spokesman told BBC Sport "Blackburn made contact with the Premier League on Friday to report the outbreak of swine flu but did not request for the fixture against Chelsea to be postponed. The Premier League does not anticipate at this stage a situation where any game will be postponed as a result of swine flu.”
So it is with whatever team they can field that Rovers will face the challenge on Tuesday night. And given the drubbing they were handed by Lampard and Co and the fact that their opponents next weekend are Manchester United it was probably time for Sam to make some serious lineup changes anyway.
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