Chelsea’s pre-season plans have run into complications after it emerged that a number of Frank Lampard’s players have tested positive for Covid-19 and others are self-isolating even though they do not have the virus.
The Guardian understands that at least four players have returned positive tests.
Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Fikayo Tomori are self-isolating after returning from their holiday to Mykonos, and four other players – Emerson, Michy Batshuayi, Ross Barkley and Jorginho – are believed to be staying away from the training ground under Covid-19 guidelines.
Mykonos is not on the list of places from which people must self-isolate on their return to the UK.
Abraham and Mount will report as planned for England’s Nations League matches against Iceland on 5 September and Denmark on 8 September. Gareth Southgate was aware of any quarantine issues when he named his squad.
Chelsea returned to training last week and continue their preparations with a friendly at Brighton on Saturday. Their first competitive game, also at Brighton, is on 14 September.
The club are close to confirming the arrival of the centre-back Thiago Silva after his release by Paris Saint-Germain and have announced the signing of Malang Sarr, another central defender, on a free.
The 21-year-old Sarr, available after failing to agree terms on a new deal with Nice, has a five-year deal and is expected to move to Germany on loan. Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke and Borussia Mönchengadbach are interested.
“The opportunity to sign Malang was one we could not miss,” Chelsea’s director Marina Granovskaia, said. “He is a tremendous prospect and we will be monitoring him closely during his loan period, hoping he will soon be back at Chelsea.” On Wednesday the club confirmed the arrival of the left-back Ben Chilwell in a £50m move from Leicester.
