An Uzbek player for Buriram United has tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of the start of the Thai League 1 football season on Saturday.
The Public Health Ministry announced on Friday that the infection was found in the 29-year-old midfielder during testing before the season restarted.
The Department of Medical Sciences conducted 1,115 tests on all players, staff, officials and referees of Thai League 1 and League 2 on Tuesday and the test on the foreigner was the only positive result to come back on Thursday.
The ministry did not give the name of the player.
The news has forced league officials to postpone three matches pending new tests on Thunder Castle players plus those on other clubs that had played friendly matches against Buriram earlier.
The Uzbek player tested negative on Aug 11 before he left for Thailand. Two tests during quarantine in Bangkok also were negative.
He left for Buri Ram to join the team on Aug 27, and travelled to their training ground in Samut Prakan on Thursday.
The question now is when the player contracted the virus.
An official said it was likely the virus was imported from Uzbekistan, although the test before his departure was negative.
But he did not rule out the possibility of local transmission, saying that if that was the case, health officials would find the source.
