Tottenham have confirmed that two unnamed players who tested positive for coronavirus on their return from international duty returned false positive results.

Both players were shown to have contracted Covid-19 but have since been retested, as per standard procedure, and will now not be required to isolate for 10 days.

The pair are now available for Sunday’s Premier League match at Newcastle, live on Sky Sports, and will also not be sidelined for the Europa Conference League match against Vitesse Arnhem on Thursday and the London derby at West Ham next weekend.

A club statement released 90 minutes before kick-off against Newcastle read: “Following a number of reports regarding the health of our players, the club would like to provide clarity to events of the past 48 hours.

“After further analysis following Premier League protocol, two players – whose names will not be disclosed due to medical confidentiality – returned false positive tests for COVID-19 on Friday after returning from international duty.”

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Speaking to Sky Sports, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo also did not want to confirm the identity of the pair, saying it was “private”, but acknowledged it had not been the ideal build-up.

The Portuguese, who named an unchanged line-up, said: “It causes some problems in the preparation for the game but we have to manage and try to adapt and we did, so we are ready to play.”

In his press conference on Friday afternoon, Spurs boss Nuno admitted that he has been left with “huge issues” following the latest international break.

Spurs, who beat Aston Villa 2-1 before the international break, sit 10th in the Premier League table, with 12 points from their opening seven games.