ANOTHER day, another postponement.
The Newcastle Jets have now had six consecutive games deferred because of the pandemic after confirmation that Saturday's fixture against Perth Glory has also disappeared into the A-League twilight zone.
The majority of Newcastle's playing squad are recovering from COVID-19 after three players initially tested positive last Thursday.
When clubs report five or more positive cases, A-League officials call games off, to hopefully be played later in the season.
The Jets last took the field in a 2-1 loss to Macarthur Bulls on December 19.
Since then, games against Western Sydney, Melbourne City, Wellington, Central Coast and Western United have been placed on hold, and now the Perth game, which was expected to have been played in Sydney.
Newcastle's next scheduled fixture is at home to Adelaide on January 30 - a six-week gap between games.
The Jets said in a statement on Monday: "We will continue to work with the A-Leagues to confirm a new schedule for all our postponed matches as soon as possible.
"The club understands that it's likely multiple midweek fixtures will be used to catch up on postponed games."
For Jets fans, one positive to emerge from the latest revamped fixture list is that the February 5 game against Brisbane Roar, which was originally to have been played at an unannounced regional venue, will now be transferred to McDonald Jones Stadium.
The deferral of the Glory game means the Jets will have to wait for their first clash with former Liverpool and England striker Daniel Sturridge.
One of the most high-profile imports in A-League history, Sturridge's only appearance for Perth has been a cameo appearance off the bench in a 1-all draw with Adelaide on November 20.
He is expected to be in the squad when the Glory's 42-day hiatus ends in Brisbane on Wednesday.
It will be Perth's first match since a 1-0 loss to Melbourne City on December 8.
"Daniel's travelling really well. He'll definitely play some part in the game," Perth coach Richie Garcia told reporters on Monday.
"Again, it's sort of back to where we were when he first arrived. The plan hasn't really changed from day one.
"He's built really nicely over the last few weeks."
