By Oyinlola Awonuga (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Real Madrid’s preparations for Sunday’s La Liga tie have been disrupted after winger Eden Hazard and midfielder Casemiro tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The club published a communique explaining the pair had given the positive test results in the last PCR tests for the virus carried out on the squad on Friday morning.
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The winger and the central midfielder were given the news before Saturday’s training session which they didn’t take part in as they are now in isolation, meaning they will miss Sunday’s game away to Valencia and will be unable to travel with their national sides for the forthcoming round of international fixtures.
They become the second and third Real Madrid players who are currently affected by the coronavirus along with central defender Eder Militao, while Alvaro Odriozola, Dani Carvajal, Nacho Fernandez and Martin Odegaard, may be able to make Sunday’s squad after suffering a muscle problem.
When asked about the loss of two key players in his Saturday press conference Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was philosophical.
“Casemiro and Hazard are upbeat and they are fine, although they are not happy about what has happened . This is something that can happen and we have to accept what has happened and adapt, as we know things could be worse,” said Zidane, who added he still had plenty of players available for Sunday.
