Concern for coach Mauricio Pochettino: Argentine PSG star Lionel Messi is among the four PSG squad players who tested positive for covid-19, announced the club this Sunday (2), the eve of a match for the French Cup in Vannes.
Messi, full-back Juan Bernat, goalkeeper Sergio Rico and midfielder Nathan Bitumazala (both reserves) “are currently in isolation and are subject to proper health protocol,” the club said.
The striker tested positive in Argentina, where he spent a week on vacation with his family, in his hometown of Rosario, where he must remain until another negative test.
“He is in constant contact with our medical service. When the test is negative, he will be able to return to France,” Pochettino declared at a press conference.
PSG did not escape the strong progression of the pandemic caused by the omicron variant, which in England led to the postponement of several Premier League games.
Before the match in Lorient (1-1) on December 22, the last before the Christmas stoppage, Thilo Kehrer and Colin Dagba had a positive result.
Pochettino admitted this Sunday that there are doubts about the concentration to be held in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where PSG will be from 16 to 19 January.
“We’ve been living with the virus for almost two years. Everyone knows what to do to avoid the contamination. But it’s always possible to catch it, as there are things we don’t control,” said the coach.
On Saturday, Bernat went to the PSG training center, like most of his teammates, where he tested positive before participating in training.
“It’s the risk we live with, all over the world. In football, contact is inevitable, we share a locker room… The risk of contamination is there, but we take all the necessary measures to try to prevent one player from contaminating the others,” he explained the Argentine technician.
Good year @Sergio Ramos ????❤️???? pic.twitter.com/D0U1jhTAhB
– Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) January 1, 2022
On December 19, Messi missed a French Cup match against PSG, whose next Ligue 1 game is scheduled for January 9th.
Messi remained in Argentina to observe his period of isolation, PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino told a news conference.
In addition, another club star, Brazilian Neymar, who suffered a sprained left ankle on 28 November during a Ligue 1 victory in Saint-Etienne, “will continue his treatment in Brazil until 9 January with members of the medical team ” of the club, said the PSG.
“His return to training is still scheduled to happen in about 3 weeks,” added the club. Their absence was assessed between six to eight weeks after the injury.
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