Juventus and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie has tested positive for the coronavirus, the club has announced.
McKennie, 22, becomes the second Juventus player to test positive this week, following Cristiano Ronaldo‘s result on Tuesday. Juventus under-23 coach Lamberto Zauli also tested positive on Wednesday.
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Juventus play Crotone on Saturday in Serie A, and the team will head into “fiduciary isolation,” essentially meaning they are heading into self-regulated isolation and trusted not to mix with people outside of their immediate bubble.
“This procedure will allow all persons negative to the controls to carry out regular training and match activities, but will not allow contact with people outside of the group,” a statement from Juventus said. “The club is in constant contact with the competent health authorities.”
McKennie signed for Juventus over the summer from Schalke on loan and has impressed in Serie A in his two appearances to date.
Ronaldo appears to be heading back to Italy after testing positive for the coronavirus in Portugal. He had been separated from the rest of the Portugal group after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday. He was said to be asymptomatic and in good health condition.
The 35-year-old tested positive two days before the team’s Nations League match against Sweden in Lisbon. He was dropped from the squad after another test on Tuesday confirmed the positive result. He had played in the Nations League match against France on Sunday and against Spain in a friendly last week.
No one else in the Portuguese squad had tested positive ahead of Wednesday’s match against Sweden.
Ronaldo began his isolation at the team’s training centre on Monday. Images published by Portuguese media on Tuesday showed him on a balcony overlooking his teammates practicing at the training centre. In one of the photos, he was shown giving the thumbs-up sign.
Ronaldo was likely to miss Juventus’ match at Crotone on Saturday and the team’s Champions League opener at Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday. Depending on his condition and the results of future tests, he could also miss the much-anticipated match against Barcelona on Oct. 28.
Juventus had been in isolation following positive tests for two staff members, but Ronaldo and six other players were allowed to leave and join their national teams.