No word on how Fabinho’s father died, but at least one report suggested that the death was sudden and unexpected. If so, then it was unlikely to have been COVID-related.
I took a bit of a research dive into Brazilian players’ travel.
There’s a lot of uncertainty at this point, but it looks like none of our Brazilian players are likely to go anywhere between now and the end of the international break. Currently, the UK lists Brazil as a “red” country for COVID-19 purposes. As a result, anyone who comes to the UK after being in Brazil must quarantine in a hotel for 10 days, and have two negative COVID tests, before they can be out and about. FIFA rules permit clubs to refuse to release players to their national teams, if their travel would require them to quarantine for five or more days.
James Pearce (LFC beat reporter for The Athletic, and probably the most-tied-in LFC journalist) indicated that Fabinho is unlikely to go home for his father’s funeral because of the quarantine rules.
Based on all of that, I think it’s likely Fabinho will be back in the squad (if not the starting lineup) next week against Chelsea.
Final note: two other midfielders were out today. Milner has an apparently minor calf strain, and Oxlade-Chamberlain was out for “personal reasons.” Ox’s girlfriend (pop singer Perrie Edwards) is close to full-term pregnant; many fans have inferred that she went into labor, but that’s not confirmed.
Burnley Notes
