Accrington v Sunderland postponed due to Wearside coronavirus outbreak

Sunderland have announced their Sky Bet League One match at Accrington on Tuesday has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak at the Wearside club.

The news comes after the Black Cats’ matches against Shrewsbury on December 19, Blackpool three days later and Hull on Boxing Day were called off following a number of positive cases in their camp.

A statement on Sunderland’s official website on Sunday said: “Sunderland AFC’s upcoming game against Accrington Stanley has been suspended.

“Scheduled to take place on Tuesday December 29, the club has informed the EFL that it will be unable to play the fixture due to the ongoing effects of a Covid-19 outbreak at the Academy of Light.

“Due to the scale of this outbreak and the volume of positive tests returned by players and staff, the club has taken the decision to postpone the game based solely on the health and wellbeing of all affected.”

The scheduled return to action for Lee Johnson’s men is now the away clash with Northampton on Saturday.

Accrington’s trip to Doncaster on Boxing Day was postponed after two unnamed Rovers players tested positive for coronavirus – Stanley are next set to host Portsmouth on Saturday.