UEFA has confirmed that countries taking part at this summer's European Championships will be allowed to name 26-man squads.
Managers will be able to include three more players than the usual amount in a bid to lighten the load on players after a more compressed season amid the pandemic.
A statement from UEFA read: "To mitigate the risks of teams facing a shortage of available players for certain matches due to possible positive COVID-19 tests results and subsequent quarantine measures ordered by competent authorities, it has been decided to exceptionally increase the player list for all participating teams to 26 players."
However, matchday squads will only be allowed to contain 23 players and UEFA also confirmed that coronavirus is classed as a "serious illness", meaning a player can be replaced if he tests positive before a team’s first match of the tournament.
The statement adds: "Once the player list has been submitted on 1 June 2021, the current regulations allow unlimited replacements on the player list in case of serious injury or illness before the first match, provided that the replacements are medically certified.
"For the sake of clarity, players who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been declared as “close contacts” of a positive COVID-19 tested person – and therefore put in isolation - by way of an authorities’ decision are considered cases of serious illness and can therefore be replaced before the first match with the approval of the UEFA administration."
The tournament, which had been scheduled to take place last summer, gets underway on June 11th with the deadline for submitting squads June 1st.
Meanwhile, the players in line for a place in Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad have all been given vaccines.
All three of Italy’s group games, against Turkey, Switzerland and Wales, will be staged in Rome.
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