Third Brighton player tests positive for coronavirus

A third Brighton player has tested positive for coronavirus, the PA news agency understands.

The unnamed player will go into 14-day isolation while he recovers from the virus.

The rest of the squad will continue to train as they have been doing during the lockdown, both at home and in solo sessions at the club’s training ground.

Two other players, whose names have also not been revealed by the club, contracted the virus earlier in the pandemic, but are understood to have since recovered.

The news comes as Seagulls technical director Dan Ashworth has called for players’ safety to be on top of the agenda at Monday’s Premier League meeting.

Clubs will meet for a crunch vote on Project Restart’s plans to complete the Premier League season at neutral venues – something Brighton have been vocally critical of.

The PA news agency understands that is the only issue of the planned resumption that Brighton are against and want the chance to secure survival on the pitch.

It is understood they are against the idea of the current sides occupying the bottom three – Norwich, Watford and Aston Villa – to be relegated if the season cannot be completed.

Ashworth insists that player safety is the main issue to be addressed, with Sunday’s third diagnosis of one of his players sure to bring that into further focus.

“The safety of players and staff is top of that list, everyone’s working hard to minimise risk for those groups,” he told the club’s official website.

“Then there’s a series of things: Where will the games be played? When can we start? When can the players train to make sure they’re not at risk of injury? How will the games be aired?

“The most important thing is safety, then you can look at the whole thing and discuss how it can all look, it’s about putting together the pieces of the jigsaw once we have a better idea of what the plan looks like.”