5 Barcelona Players Tested Positive for Coronavirus Early in Pandemic

Five players and two coaches at Barcelona tested positive for coronavirus during the early stages of the outbreak.

The squad returned to near-full training on Monday in anticipation of their return to competitive action which, for Barcelona, will come in the shape of a trip to Real Mallorca on 13 June.

Fortunately, everyone in the squad is currently understood to be healthy and unaffected by the virus, but RAC1 have revealed that seven different people at the club were found to have contracted the virus a few months ago.

During the early stages of the outbreak, Spain was one of the worst-hit countries in the world, so Barcelona looked to try and keep their squad safe by testing everyone at the club for the virus, which five players and two coaches were found to have despite showing no symptoms.

The club did not release the information and it was not included in La Liga's official report of the situation, and everyone impacted is said to have recovered and returned to work.

Upon the return to training back in the early weeks of May, Barcelona confirmed that everyone at the club had been tested and no cases of coronavirus had been found, and now almost everyone is available for La Liga's return.

Defender Samuel Umtiti returned to training on Monday after picking up an injury in the first session back, while young Ansu Fati has also been struggling with knee issues related to growing pains. Academy midfielder Monchu, who has been called up to the first team, is sidelined with a thigh injury, and Ousmane Dembélé remains unavailable.

Barcelona currently sit two points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga standings and they will have the chance to extend that lead to five points with a victory over Mallorca.

Real do not play until Sunday, when they will face 16th-placed Eibar at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in the Ciudad Real Madrid.

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