On Saturday (23 October), Saturday Night Live revealed Sheeran would be the musical guest on its 6 November show with host Kieran Culkin, but just a day later Sheeran took to Instagram to reveal he'd tested positive for COVID.

Page Six then reported that producers of the show were "scrambling" to find a replacement for Sheeran after his statement revealed he would be doing interviews and performances from his home, and The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle jumped in with a humorous response directed at the show's creator Lorne Michaels, "Lorne M please be advised that the Mountain Goats are in NY right now and are well loved by the TikTok Dancing Massive. Get well soon Ed & holler at me Lorne."

The Mountain Goats' TikTok reference comes after their "No Children" song has been used in more than 14,500 videos on the platform.

Neither Sheeran or Saturday Night Live have given an update on Sheeran's appearance on the show next month.

Ed Sheeran's = album will arrive Friday (29 October) via Asylum/Atlantic, and is available to pre-order now.