Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach Antonio Conte has confirmed that eight first-team players and five members of staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

Conte, who replaced Nuno Espirito Santo last month, added the number is growing every day and said it is a “serious problem”.

“The situation makes me very upset because the situation is serious. It’s contagious and there is a big infection,” he said.

“Now we are a bit scared because tomorrow we don’t know what will happen.”

Spurs are scheduled to play Rennes in the Europa Conference League at home on Thursday and UEFA, European football’s governing body, says “the match is due to take place as scheduled”.

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They then play Brighton at the Amex Stadium on 12 December.

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It remains unclear whether the club will ask for Sunday’s Premier League match to be postponed.

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During a pre-match press conference, an emotional Conte admitted the situation was “so strange and incredible”.

“Every day we are having people with COVID, people who were not positive yesterday. This is not a good situation.

“This for sure makes me upset because I am here to talk about football, about my players and the atmosphere that I want to see tomorrow. Instead, we are talking about the people that have COVID.”

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