Chelsea have been hit by a coronavirus outbreak that has seen several players test positive for COVID-19 just two weeks before the start of the new Premier League season.
Four players – Mason Mount, Tommy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Fakiyo Tomori – are reported to be in quarantine after recently holidaying together on the Greek island of Mykonos.
The Daily Mail reports that an unspecified ‘number’ of players have tested positive for the virus and are self-isolating to limit the possibility of its spread.
It is not known if Mount, Abraham, Pulisic or Tomori are among those who have tested positive or if their isolation is more of a precaution, but The Sun writes that none of the four have yet completed pre-season training. have not reported to Chelsea’s Cobham base for the season, which began last weekend.
Chelsea has only told media outlets that there are confirmed cases, not who has been infected.
Both Abraham and Mount have also been named in England’s squad for the UEFA Nations League games in Iceland and Denmark early next month. Their isolation is likely to fade by the time they link up with the squad, but missing training can affect fitness.
Mount and Abraham are also in England’s squad for September/Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Government guidelines mandate that anyone with symptoms of the coronavirus must self-isolate for 10 days, either from the day symptoms first appeared, or from the day a positive test was taken in asymptomatic cases. . Others who have been in contact with confirmed cases should self-isolate for 14 days.
There are no travel restrictions on returning to England from Greece, which is on the government’s list of ‘travel corridors’, meaning there is no mandatory period of isolation after being in the country – unlike currently returning from France or the Netherlands.
Chelsea’s 2020/21 Premier League season is set to begin on Monday 14 September when they travel to the south coast to face Brighton at the Amex Stadium.
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