Mariano Diaz Tests Positive for Coronavirus Ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League Clash With Man City

Real Madrid have confirmed that forward Mariano Diaz has tested positive for the coronavirus, meaning he will miss his side's Champions League tussle with Manchester City - while it could also have implications on the fixture itself.

City and Real are due to play the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie when the competition gets back underway again on 7 August, with the Premier League outfit holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg.

There have been doubts recently regarding whether the second leg would be able to still go ahead following the UK government's decision to enforce a standard 14-day quarantine on visitors from Spain as the country saw a rise in the number of cases. However, it was recently confirmed that Los Blancos would not be required to quarantine for a period of two weeks as they are exempt.

However, Real Madrid have now taken to their official website to confirm that forward Mariano has tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, the 26-year-old is in 'perfect health' and is now self-isolating at home.

A short statement read: "After the COVID-19 tests carried out individually on our first football team yesterday by the Real Madrid Medical Services, our player Mariano has given a positive result. The player is in perfect health and complying with the sanitary isolation protocol at home."

This means that Mariano will not be available to Zinedine Zidane for Los Blancos' trip to take on Manchester City, but more broadly, this will raise questions as to whether it is safe for the Champions League tie to still go ahead. For Mariano, however, his well-being is the ultimate priority at this moment in time.

He has struggled for minutes in 2019/20, making just seven appearances in all competitions so far. In fact, he has scored just one La Liga goal for the newly crowned league champions, the second in a 2-0 win over Barcelona.