Shrewsbury Town boss Steve Cotterill will watch Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Southampton from his hospital bed as he recovers from Covid-19.
Having tested positive last week, the 56-year-old was admitted to hospital near his family home in Bristol on Friday after his symptoms worsened.
But, after entering intensive care over the weekend, he is now recovering.
“I can tell he’s getting better as he’s begun to crack jokes,” assistant Aaron Wilbraham told BBC Radio Shropshire.
“He’s told me to tell the boys to say he’ll be watching from his hospital bed, so they’d better be at it.
“We’ve really missed his energy around the place. He’s been really poorly with it for the last two weeks and he was in intensive care over the weekend. But his voice now sounds a lot better.”
It is not yet known for how long it will be before Cotterill can return to his job – but Wilbraham has taken the reins for now, assisted by academy coach David Longwell.
The FA Cup tie was originally called off on 9 January after a coronavirus outbreak at the League One club.
Shrewsbury, who have one other member of their playing staff still isolating after testing positive, also had Saturday’s League One game with Lincoln City postponed.
The Shropshire club, who are 17th in League One, will be playing for the first time in three weeks when they step out at St Mary’s, having not played since 29 December.
