THREE Hamilton Academical players have entered a 10-day period of self-isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, the SPFL/SFA Joint Response Group (JRG) have announced.

The Accies trio returned positive tests in the aftermath of their 2-1 win over Livingston last Saturday and have joined defender Lee Hodson in quarantining.

The Hamilton players will undergo another round of testing on Thursday ahead of their Premiership fixture against Kilmarnock this weekend, with the game scheduled to go ahead as planned.

Allan Maitland, the Accies chairman, said: “We are grateful that this matter has been resolved quickly and efficiently and wish to thank all parties involved.

"We fully understand the problems encountered by other clubs since the outbreak of this pandemic and also how difficult it is to resolve them fairly and consistently. After a difficult few days, our focus will be to get back to training and carry the momentum gained from last week into the match this Saturday.”

The SFA president, Rod Petrie, added: “We are grateful for the work of the Lanarkshire Health Protection Team and our colleagues at Scottish Government, who have helped us to work through this difficult and complex situation, with the minimum of disruption in the circumstances.

"This is another timely reminder of the need to maintain social distancing measures before, during and after a match, and to continue to adhere to Scottish Government public health advice as well as the well-established football protocols.”

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said the latest incident underlined the importance of the strict coronavirus protocols that have been put in place to ensure the 2020/21 campaign can be completed.

“Given the current incidence of the virus in the community, we are likely to see more and more positive tests for Covid-19 amongst Premiership teams," he said.

"This situation once again emphasises the importance of our current testing regime in reducing the likelihood of the virus spreading unchecked through Premiership first team squads, and in increasing the chances of us being able to complete season 2020/21.”