SHOULD the EFL season be suspended?

With Covid-19 cases on the rise among players up and down the country, the inevitable knock-on effect has been the postponement of matches.

Colchester United’s game with Tranmere Rovers was the latest League Two fixture to succumb to the rising coronavirus infections, on Saturday afternoon.

Both squads were without players – and allowing the game to take place would have increased the risk of further spreading Covid-19.

Two Colchester players had tested positive and had been in contact with other players and with Tranmere also having cases of players with symptoms, the clubs’ perspective was quite rightly that health had to be the priority.

After all, any players with symptoms on either side would be potential spreaders, in the midst of a global pandemic with a new variant rapidly spreading.

It was, of course, frustrating for everyone that the game was called off, particularly so close to kick-off time.

Tranmere’s players and staff had already arrived at the JobServe Community Stadium when confirmation came through that the game had been suspended and it must have been hugely disappointing for them, as well as the U’s.

But it was a correct – and sensible - decision, with the health and safety of everyone the main priority.

Colchester have left no stone unturned in their attempts to make their stadium and training ground as safe as possible, in the current climate.

But the Covid cases in their squad might be viewed as a reflection of the worrying signs in wider society, at present.

And with infections rising, it is likely more EFL games will go the same way in the coming weeks with the Championship, League One and League Two beset by postponements.

The Telegraph revealed yesterday that the EFL is to introduce twice-weekly testing for players and staff.

Testing will be ramped up and Colchester’s players will take part in mandatory testing at the stadium, tomorrow morning.

But will that increase in testing be enough to curb the number of infections – and postponements?

Should we even be playing elite sport?

Should the season be put on hold until the vaccine has been substantially rolled out?

After all, this is a new variant of Covid-19 which is much more contagious and spreads around young people.

As a consequence, players are more likely to get it, even though much of the time they will be asymptomatic and spread it inadvertently.

The likes of former England manager Sam Allardyce have called for a circuit break in football action to combat rising cases in the game.

But if the season is paused, when will the fixtures be played?

Once the season is suspended, it will be hard to restart because the variant will still be in evidence and could well be even be worse than it is now, before it gets better.

The EFL remain confident it can cope with the increasing number of postponements that are taking place, because of coronavirus cases.

The way in which the season has been scheduled allows for multiple postponements and the EFL currently believe there is enough flexibility to ensure all games can be accommodated and the season can be completed.

However, with an increasing number of games now being called off, that situation might well change.