PARIS —
Lionel Messi has tested positive for COVID-19 and entered self-isolation, his
club
Paris Saint-Germain announced on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner was one of four
PSG players to test positive for the virus ahead of a French Cup match against
Vannes.
Messi tested positive while on holiday in his
hometown of Rosario in Argentina.
“He is constantly in contact with our medical
service. When he is negative, he will be able to return to France,” PSG coach
Mauricio Pochettino told a press conference.
The Argentinian star has endured a difficult start
to life in the French capital since an emotional exit from
Barcelona last
summer.
Messi has scored only one goal in 11 league
appearances for PSG, although he has netted five times in the Champions League.
He will miss Monday’s cup tie and Pochettino said he
did not know if he would also be sidelined for PSG’s first Ligue 1 match since
the winter break, at Lyon next Sunday.
The other players to test positive were full-back
Juan Bernat, back-up goalkeeper Sergio Rico and teenage midfielder Nathan
Bitumazala.
“They are
currently respecting isolation and are subject to the appropriate health
protocols,” PSG said.
Pochettino added: “We have been living with the
virus for almost two years, everyone knows what to do in order not to be
infected. But we can still catch it, there are things we cannot control.”
Bernat tested positive after reporting for training.
“This is the risk with which we live, on a global
scale,” said Pochettino. “In football, contact is inevitable, we share the
dressing room.
“The risk of contamination is there, but we take all
the necessary measures to try to prevent a player from infecting others.”
The number of COVID cases in France has topped
200,000 a day this week.
PSG also said that Neymar, who suffered an ankle
injury in November, is continuing treatment in his native Brazil.
“He is still scheduled to return to training in about three
weeks,” the club said.
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