Sheffield United rocked by "a number" of coronavirus cases ahead of Premier League clash with Burnley

The club confirmed the news ahead of kick-off at Turf Moor this afternoon, but the game will go ahead.

Earlier today, the Premier League confirmed 18 cases of Covid-19 after the latest round of testing amongst its 20 clubs – the highest figure of the season so far.

"Sheffield United can confirm the club recorded a number of positive coronavirus tests after the latest round of testing," a United statement this afternoon read.

"Due to medical confidentiality the club will not be revealing the names of those who have been affected.

"The individuals who have tested positive have now entered into a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and Government guidelines."Everyone at Sheffield United would like to extend our best wishes to our colleagues and wish them a speedy recovery."

Between December 21 and 27, 1,479 players and club staff were tested and those 18 individuals who have the virus will now self-isolate for a period of 10 days.

A number of those cases are at Manchester City after an outbreak there saw their game with Everton called off at four hours' notice on Monday.

The previous highest number of cases this season was 16, during the week of November 9 to 15.

"The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency,” a Premier League statement read.

"No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the League and results will be made public after each round of testing."

The spike in cases, an increase of 11 from the previous week's testing, will cause concern about the prospect of more disruption across English football.

Eight games across the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two on Tuesday have been wiped out because of the virus, while Rotherham United boss Paul Warne said his side are only playing their match with Barnsley to avoid a possible points deduction by the EFL.