Paris
Blaise Matuidi to the growing list of footballers who have tested positive for coronavirus.
Juventus announced the news on Tuesday, six days after teammate Daniele Rugani tested positive for COVID-19. Matuidi entered isolation on the same day, March 11.
According to Juve, Matuidi “has been in voluntary home isolation. He will continue to be monitored and will follow the same regimen. He is well and is asymptomatic.”
Juve has a one-point lead on Lazio in a bid to win its ninth-straight and 36th-total scudetto. Matuidi has played in 31 matches with a goal and two assists this season, his third with Juve. He won the World Cup with France and has 84 caps.
Former Juventus centre-back Medhi Benatia has wished Blaise Matuidi speedy recovery after he tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
Matuidi becomes the second Juventus player to contract the virus after defender Daniele Rugani was diagnosed with the illness last Wednesday.
Covid-19 outbreak has left Italy in a lockdown while football activities in the country and other European countries have been suspended.
Benatia played with Matuidi at the Allianz Stadium before leaving for Qatar to join Al Duhail in January 2019.
The former Morocco captain described the French midfielder as a brother and a soldier with a word of prayer for him and his family.
“With all my heart with you my brother Blaise Matuidi. A soldier like you has seen others. May God grant you healing, preserve you and your family,” Benatia wrote on Instagram.—AP
