Juventus has said star forward Paulo Dybala has not tested positive for coronavirus according to Daily Mail online, as the Italian giants confirmed that 121 people associated with the club have gone into self-isolation.
Defender Daniele Rugani became the first confirmed case of coronavirus of any player in Serie A on Wednesday evening.
He shared a dressing room on Sunday with his Juventus teammates as they beat Inter Milan 2-0 behind closed doors, and as a result the club have introduced drastic measures to help prevent the spread of the virus.
A club statement read: “Following yesterday’s news, relating to the positivity to Coronavirus-COVID 19 of the player Daniele Rugani, it is specified that 121 people, including players, staff members, managers, escorts and Juventus employees are observing a period of voluntary home isolation, in compliance with the requirements of the health authorities based on the provisions currently in force.”
El Nacional are reporting that Dybala has tested positive as well and has been placed into quarantine but Juventus have reportedly denied the Argentina star’s positive test.
Ronaldo not positive
The president of Madeira regional government Miguel Albuquerque has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo is not infected with the coronavirus despite being held in quarantine.
He said: “I cannot speak of this issue for data protection reasons, but I want to say that the situation has been properly analysed and it is, at this time, guaranteed that there is no possibility of infection.”
Regional health secretary Pedro Ramos also confirmed that: “Both the athlete and his family are asymptomatic.”
Ronaldo is among those people that has self-isolated, with the Portuguese star remaining in quarantine in his Madeira home but he has not tested positive for the virus.
The Portuguese star flew to his homeland to visit his mother, who recently suffered a stroke, before the news broke and must stay put rather than fly back to northern Italy where the outbreak is at its most rampant.
A picture posted on Instagram by Miralem Pjanic after the game shows Ronaldo and Rugani celebrating the victory in a close huddle with their team-mates.
All sporting events in Italy have been cancelled until at least April 3 – including Juventus’ Champions League second leg against Lyon which was due to take place next Tuesday.
Rugani was the second professional footballer to test positive, with Hannover 96 defender Timo Hubers currently in quarantine.
