O’Neill in lucky escape from Glory lock-up

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Perth Glory captain Brandon O’Neill will be back home for Christmas after escaping the club’s COVID-19 drama, but his teammates haven’t been so lucky.

Glory players and staff are likely to have to spend 14 days locked up in Brisbane hotel quarantine after a player was told on Wednesday night that he had tested positive.

O’Neill, who had stayed in Perth for the past few weeks to be present for the birth of his baby, flew into Brisbane on Wednesday night to join his A-League Men teammates.

But because he didn’t have any contact with the infected player, he has been allowed to fly back to Perth.

Star signing Daniel Sturridge, who completed a two-week quarantine stint in early November after arriving in Australia, now faces another two weeks under lock and key.

“It’s a difficult one for him to take,” Glory coach Richard Garcia said of Sturridge, who was due to return in Saturday’s now-postponed clash with Brisbane. 

“I don’t think he’s ever seen it in the UK. He struggled doing the two weeks in WA when he came from overseas, and now another knock like this is probably hard to take.”

But there is a glimmer of hope for Glory players, with chief executive Tony Pignata working with the Queensland and Western Australia governments to try to find a way to bring the squad home early.

One possible scenario is Glory doing seven days of hotel quarantine in Queensland, before completing the quarantine period at their respective homes in Perth. 

Either way, Glory won’t be in action again until January, and Garcia is worried about the mental state of his players.

“We’re under lock and key with the police like we’ve just come out of overseas travel. It’s a hard one to take,” Garcia said.

“As you can imagine, (we are feeling) frustration and probably throughout a lot of the squad a lot of sadness.

“For me, it’s more about the players and the staff’s wellbeing and their mental health, because we were already in a sticky situation beforehand with mental health, with the possibility of being on a very extended break away from family and friends.

“And now the possibility of not being home for Christmas is one that a lot of players and staff and struggling to swallow.”

Pignata said the infected player was only showing mild symptoms.

“He’s fine,” Pignata said. 

“It’s a different legislation in Queensland. Other states you basically quarantine in a hotel. In Queensland they put you in the hospital.

“He’s in good spirits. He just has to do his time, and luckily he’s not under severe stress.”

Macarthur became the fourth A-League Men club to be hit with a COVID-positive test, but their match against Newcastle Jets on Sunday is still set to go ahead given the different rules in NSW.

The Jets and Western United have also been hit with positive cases. 

Ex-Perth coach Tony Popovic, now in charge at Melbourne Victory, said he feels for his former club.

“That’s a very unfortunate situation for anyone,” Popovic said.

“It’s a tough one for them and obviously as footballers and people involved in the game we feel for them.”

Out of an abundance of caution, Western United have told players not to attend restaurants and cafes, while coach John Aloisi held his mid-week video sessions and team meetings outdoors.

Popovic said his Victory players are following league protocols diligently.