Leyton Orient owner Nigel Travis has revealed that he expects Tuesday night's Carabao Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur to be postponed.
The news comes after a number of Orient players tested positive for coronavirus with cases across the United Kingdom starting to climb.
Jose Mourinho's side were set to travel to Brisbane Road this evening with midfielder Dele Alli expected to feature against League Two opposition.
But now it appears the game could well be postponed - here is what could happen if tonight's clash does not take place...
When it could be replayed
Tottenham are facing arguably the busiest start the season of any Premier League side this term, so fitting in another cup fixture will not prove easy.
Spurs face fixtures against Macedonian side Shkendjia, Newcastle United and Manchester United over the next eleven days with the only opening for their third-round clash with Orient coming during the middle of next week.
That is when the competition's fourth round ties were expected to be played, had Spurs progressed.
However, with a number of Orient players having tested positive for coronavirus a fixture in just seven days time may not prove far enough up the road.
After Spurs' clash with Manchester United, players from all clubs will depart on international duty before returning on the weekend October 17, making a midweek clash for the following week the next possible chance to play the fixture.
What Orient have said about the game being replayed
Speaking to TalkSport, Leyton Orient owner Nigel Travis said: "Just to be clear, the game is a postponement, not a cancellation.
“We have spoken to the EFL and we are assuming this is a postponement
“We’re going to lose £2.5million this year, also anything that can help us reduce that loss is clearly important. We are struggling so games like this have to take place.
“We have a great relationship with Spurs, we’ve looked at their fixtures and this game can be played. There has to be a will because this game is worth £150,000 profit to us, so we have to play this game.
“I recognise the guidelines and we have spoken to the league about extenuating circumstances. I can assure you, we will not be the first club facing this year. Even Man City had a player test positive recently.
He continued: “We expect this game to be played and we will campaign very strongly for this game to be played. Clubs of our size depend on games like this.”
What this means for the competition
Any postponement will cause a major fixture headache for EFL bosses.
Next week's fourth-round Carabao Cup ties have been scheduled for the last available mid-week slot before the international break, meaning postponed ties may not be played until well into October.
However, with the Carabao Cup's unique schedule for the 2020-21 season, the fifth round of the competition will not take place until December, allowing plenty of time for teams to catch up.
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Could Spurs be handed a bye?
While it looks unlikely at this moment, Spurs fans will be wondering if they could be handed a bye for the clash.
Tottenham are likely to be inundated with Premier League and Europa League fixtures following October's international break.
But it instead looks more probable that the EFL will schedule any postponed fixture to be played on a Tuesday night, potentially in the same mid-week as a Spurs Europa League clash.