'The health of our human beings is the most important' - City boss on what next after positive Covid results

The health of Tim Krul and Adam Idah outweighs the potential impact on Norwich City’s Championship push for Daniel Farke, after the duo tested positive for coronavirus. 

The experienced keeper and the highly-rated striker entered a period of self-isolation earlier this week, in line with public health guidelines, along with a member of City’s support staff after a mandatory round of testing ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Coventry. 

Idah is still on the comeback trail after a knee problem but Krul would be a huge miss for next week’s league resumption at Cardiff. 

The Dutchman will have served his period of isolation by then, although Farke insists it is too early to plan for his return. 

“I will only ask this question of the physios and doctors when the two players feel fit and ready to go. It is not for me to push things to make them available,” he said. “The most important topic is both lads and our staff member are fine.

"In terms of the rules there is no doubt they would be available, and we also have the time to deliver two negative tests.  

“They could return to the training pitch and be a possibility for Cardiff. But the first step is let them get well and recover. They also need training sessions. 

“Tim had some symptoms in the beginning but it is not getting any worse. It feels more or less like a cold for him. It looks okay. We take this very seriously. Tim has said on social media about staying disciplined and he is totally spot on. They were more or less isolated from the moment we took the test.” 

Josh Martin has also been ruled out this weekend as precaution after developing flu symptoms. 

“He had a cold in the last days and was not training,” said Farke. “We have re-tested him to make sure there is no covid case. The doctors think it is a normal cold but we will take a second test and bring him back after that. 

“We have the guidelines and we are prepared to go beyond those. That must be one of the reasons we have had so few cases. The health of our human beings is the most important. It is also important not to panic too much. You have to stick to the rules and protocols.”