Stevenage FC chairman Phil Wallace has called for the PFA to foot the bill for player testing after a player from Alex Revell's squad tested positive for Covid.

The unnamed player is self-isolating in-line with government guidelines after he reported mild coronavirus symptoms on Thursday and was tested immediately.

However, cash-strapped Boro are struggling to foot the bill for testing players - while PFA moneybags sitting on reserves of more than £55m.

Boro chairman Wallace said: "I have paid out £3,500 for tests to ensure the welfare of our players for a few days, at a time when our club is scrambling for every pound.

"When it is reported that the PFA have £55 million in retained earnings and if their main role is the welfare of their members, one might wonder why the PFA are not paying for these tests.

"They would make a thumping loss this season looking after their members, but is that going to put much of a dent in £55 million, if that reported figure is true?

"If testing costs can be driven down so that a squad and management can be tested for less than £2,000, then testing the whole of League One and League Two weekly during the season will still see them with well over £50 million left."

Wallace suggested that the PFA could agree to allow club's to test weekly and charge each player – or perhaps share the cost with the players.

The Broadhall Way outfit immediately cancelled its travel plans for Revell's and his squad to travel to their clash with Bradford City on Saturday, and tested all players and first team staff.

The club confirmed results from the tests will be 'known and acted upon first thing tomorrow morning, in consultation with the EFL.'

Wallace added: "There has to be a solution which protects players, yet allows clubs to continue playing and, therefore, paying their wages. We shouldn't have to stop playing again if we manage the virus weekly and are able to smooth out positive tests.

"What we are doing now – only testing folk that have symptoms and allowing each club to decide whether or not it tests further - is going to result in mass infections all at once and games cancelled as a result.

"I have no medical training or knowledge, but I can see trouble ahead when it is lit up in lights. We have to find a way of funding regular testing, so clubs can have a chance of survival.

"Then we have to find a way to get crowds back into our open stadiums, letting our individual Safety Groups rule on whether a club is approved to provide a safe environment for watching football, not the government.

"Otherwise what is the point of being controlled by an independent safety advisory group? We need crowds back to survive and every EFL club is more than capable of complying with whatever requirements are requested by our respective safety advisory group."