The Juventus and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi has tested positive for coronavirus, the Serie A side said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Turin-based club said Matuidi, a World Cup winner with France in 2018 “has been in voluntary home isolation. He is well and is asymptomatic.” He is the second of Juve’s players to test positive after Daniele Rugani last week and the club added: “He will continue to be monitored and will follow the same regime.”
Players from fellow top-tier Italian sides Sampdoria and Fiorentina have also tested positive for the virus.
The list of players in top European leagues either self-isolating or confirmed as having Covid-19 continues to grow as the pandemic spreads, with six Espanyol players among the latest in La Liga, following the announcement by Valencia that “around 35%” of players and staff including Ezequiel Garay and Matuidi’s fellow France international Eliaquim Mangala also have the virus.
Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish football federation, attacked the league’s plan to carry out tests for Covid-19 at every first and second division club as “irresponsible” when there are others who need to be tested more urgently amid a health crisis.
