Real Madrid’s Belgian forward Eden Hazard and Brazilian midfielder Casemiro have tested positive for Covid-19, the La Liga club said on Saturday.
The two players tested positive on Friday morning, Real said in a statement. According to Real, all other players and staff who work directly with the pair were subsequently tested.
Both the PCR test and the antibody test came back negative for all, except Hazard and Casemiro. The two players will miss Real Madrid’s La Liga match against Valencia on Sunday.
“They’re fine. They’re not happy with what happened, but mentally they’re fine, and physically too,” Real coach Zinedine Zidane told reporters on Saturday.
“Casi has a few symptoms but in this difficult situation they are fine. I left them a message, I will speak to them again later. This is something that can happen, and we must accept it.
“There was nothing special, they are responsible people, who pay attention … Obviously, I would have preferred to have them.”
READ: Last-minute drama as Casemiro helps Real snatch draw in the Champions League
The positive Covid-19 tests for Hazard and Casemiro also rules both of them out of playing for their respective national teams during the upcoming international window as they will have to go into isolation.
Hazard has struggled with injury since joining Real from Chelsea in June 2019 for a reported $113 million fee.
He missed the start of the season owing to a series of ankle injuries and had only recently returned to Real’s team for the Champions League meeting with Borussia Monchengladbach on October 27, before scoring in the 4-1 La Liga win over Huesca.
However, that was only the second goal Hazard has scored for Real since his transfer from Chelsea.
On Monday, ahead of their Champions League match against Inter Milan in midweek, Real announced that Brazilian central defender Eder Militao had tested positive for Covid-19.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.