Manchester City are carefully monitoring developments after a Real Madrid player tested positive for Covid-19.
Both clubs are currently pushing ahead with preparations for the second leg of the Champions League last 16 clash at the Etihad Stadium on August 7.
But the news that Madrid squad player Mariano Diaz has contracted the virus has put the Blues on high alert just ten days before the two clubs are set to play.
The fact that Mariano does not appear to have been in contact with any teammates, as he was tested on his return to training after the squad was given a short break, appears to mitigate the likelihood that Madrid are in breach of protocols governing elite sports teams travelling to the UK.
Madrid will have to satisfy both the UK government and Uefa that there is no risk involved in their squad travelling to Manchester for the game next week.
But with a second wave of the coronavirus hitting Spain, and with Madrid appearing to be a hotspot for the disease, City are concerned enough to be closely monitoring the situation.
The UK government re-imposed rules on travellers arriving in the country from Spain at the weekend, making it obligatory that anyone landing in the UK from Spain should self-isolate for 14 days.
Real Madrid should have been OK in that regard, as elite sports teams were made exempt due to the fact they would remain in a “bubble” during their time in the UK and would also be subject to a rigorous testing regime.
But the fact that a player within that team has tested positive, and that the City of Madrid seems to be experiencing a second spike in coronavirus cases, could bring an intervention from the government, or from Uefa.
Spanish second division club Fuenlabrada – based in the outskirts of Madrid – had to give up their place in the league play-offs after 28 players and staff went down with Covid-19.
The rising number of cases in Spain, and Madrid in particular,will be monitored by the club, but at the moment there is no indication that they will ask Uefa to intervene.
