Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic tests positive for Covid-19
Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss the Chelsea
champions league visit Zenit on Wednesday because he just tested positive for
Covid-19.
While speaking at his
pre-match conference on Tuesday ahead of their game in St Petersburg, head
coach Thomas Tuchel described the news as a “huge setback” for the club. The Croatian midfielder had just returned
from his hamstring injury before he tested positive for covid-19 on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old
midfielder had been out of action since October and their boss Thomas Tuchel had
anticipated his return this week.
N'Golo Kante remains sidelined with a knee issue, while
Jorginho has been forced to play through the pain of a back niggle and will
also now miss Wednesday night's game.
"We have bad news because Mateo was in training
yesterday and with a big smile and it was a pure pleasure to have him
back," said Tuchel.
"But he tested positive today, for coronavirus, so he's
quarantining for a few days. So it's a huge setback for him personally and for
all of us."
When asked if the
resurgence of coronavirus has caused extra concerns at Chelsea generally,
Tuchel added: "Yes, I was aware that this can happen, me personally.
"I'm not happy not only as a manager but
also as a person. But this is the reality at the moment, we have to face it to
be ready to adapt and to do the best thing possible to avoid
transmission."
