Health condition means Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore need to be extra careful over Covid-19 handling

There is as of yet no indication of how long Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore will be placed out of action after he returned a positive test result for Covid-19.
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The Owls boss did not travel with his side ahead of their defeat at high-flying Watford after returning a positive test on Thursday morning.

It meant his assistant manager Jamie Smith took charge of the clash while Moore watched watched from home. Smith said his manager was in regular communication with the bench throughout via telephone.

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But the test result will be of added concern due to an underlying health condition Moore manages.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday.

The Wednesday manager is a sufferer of asthma, which means he is at risk of suffering more severe symptoms if the test result is accurate and he has contracted Covid-19.

Asked how Moore was, Smith said he had spoken to his manager that morning, explaining he was OK.

Speaking last year, Moore explained people like him needed to be extra careful when it came to their approach to the virus.

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"I’m living proof that asthma, when managed correctly, is no barrier to an active and healthy life and many top athletes take medication for it,” he said. “But now we are more vulnerable.

“This is a pandemic of a respiratory virus, which means if those of us with asthma contract it - and we know many will - it’ll hit us harder and we are more at risk of serious complications.

“Many of us will know people with conditions like asthma or diabetes, and it is these people we need to protect at this time.”

Moore previously had to self-isolate when he was in charge of Doncaster Rovers back in November. He had come into contact with members of staff at AFC Wimbledon who had subsequently tested positive.

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The incident meant all of Rovers’ senior backroom staff, including Smith, had to sit out of two matches with Andy Butler taking charge.

It is not the first time Wednesday’s season has been touched by the coronavirus crisis.

Back in January academy boss Andy Holdsworth took their FA Cup trip to Exeter after several players and staff members had to self-isolate after a handful of positive tests.

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