Manchester United star Paul Pogba is the latest Premier League player to test positive for coronavirus after Chelsea’s pre-season preparations were thrown into chaos by six positive tests.
The 27-year-old had been named in France’s squad for their upcoming Nations League matches next month but has been replaced by Eduardo Camavinga following his positive test result.
Pogba had remained in England during his time off and was pictured enjoying a night out at the swanky Cipriani Restaurant in London on Saturday night with his heavily pregnant wife Maria Zulay Salaues and friends.
Paul Pogba (centre right) has tested positive for coronavirus after being pictured on a night out at a London restaurant with his pregnant wife Maria (centre left) and friends on Saturday
Pogba has stayed in England and went to Cipriani restaurant in Mayfair on the weekend
Man United midfielder has been removed from France squad and will miss start of pre-season
Tottenham midfielder and Pogba’s compatriot Tanguy Ndombele has also been removed from Didier Deschamps’ squad after being diagnosed with the virus.
Pogba had taken a test on Wednesday and found out his positive result on Thursday afternoon.
France boss Deschamps confirmed Pogba’s withdrawal from the squad, saying: ‘I had to make a last-minute change to this list, because Paul Pogba was planned to be in this list but, unfortunately for him, he took a test (for COVID-19) yesterday which turned out to be positive today, so at the last minute he was replaced by Eduardo Camavinga.’
United confirmed to Sportsmail that all of their players will abide by government regulations surrounding coronavirus, including quarantining where necessary.
In a statement, the club said: ‘Paul has been replaced in the French squad after testing positive for Covid-19. Everybody at United wishes him a speedy recovery ahead of the new season.’
Pogba pictured playing against compatriot Tanguy Ndombele (right) for United last year
France stars Ndombele (left) and Pogba will now miss next month’s Nations League games
The £89million United man will now have to spend 14 days in self-isolation, meaning he will miss the start of the club’s pre-season preparations next Wednesday and France’s fixtures against Sweden and Croatia.
Ndombele will also have to quarantine and will not be allowed to continue training with Tottenham until after the 14-day isolation period.
The news about Pogba will come as a bitter blow for United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is also expected to be without Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the beginning of their pre-season training after he failed to follow his club’s advice by travelling to Dubai.
As Sportsmail revealed, the England ace flew to the popular holiday destination at the end of United’s season and must now self-isolate for 14 days upon his return.
Pogba’s positive test also comes on the week United captain Harry Maguire was found guilty of assaulting police, verbal abuse, and attempted bribery by a court on the island of Syros, in Greece. He is appealing the verdicts.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is facing a period of 14 days in quarantine after travelling out to Dubai
Pogba’s positive test comes in the same week Harry Maguire was convicted in Greek courts
Maguire was given a 21-month suspended sentence after being convicted of all charges after the brawl in Mykonos and has been urged to apologise.
Despite the verdict handed down by the Greek courts – which subsequently saw Maguire dropped from Gareth Southgate’s England squad – United have no immediate plans to strip him of the captaincy.
The United star has maintained his innocence and his legal team have launched an appeal but a backlog in the Greek legal process means it could take 18 months or longer before the defender has the chance to clear his name.
World Cup winner Pogba, who has a son with wife Maria, is one of several big-name Premier League players to test positive for Covid-19 after it was revealed on Wednesday that Chelsea have had to place eight players in quarantine after six players tested positive on their return from sunshine trips around Europe.
Chelsea’s preparations for the new season have been thrown into turmoil after they were hit by a coronavirus outbreak – with eight of their players missing pre-season as they self-isolate.
The Blues have confirmed a number of players have tested positive for Covid-19 and are in quarantine to limit the threat of further spreading among Frank Lampard’s squad.
Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic and Fikayo Tomori are all understood to be in self-isolation after they were pictured on holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos before pre-season training began last weekend.
Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori are pictured in Mykonos together
Pulisic and Mason Mount (right, with Didier Drogba) took their off-season holidays in Mykonos
Ross Barkley is pictured at a beach bar in Mykonos during Chelsea’s off-season break
Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Emerson and Michy Batshuayi are also reported to be staying away from Chelsea’s Cobham base.
It is not known which of the players have tested positive. The Telegraph report that six players have the virus and a further two are quarantining because of close contact with those affected.
The players all underwent coronavirus tests at the end of last week ahead of their planned return to pre-season training.
But as a result of the need to quarantine, a number of Chelsea players have yet to report back to the club’s Cobham HQ.
Abraham and Mount are in Gareth Southgate’s England squad and their quarantine period is not thought to be an issue ahead of next week’s Nations League game against Iceland. Southgate is said to have been aware of the situation when he picked his squad.
Midfielder Barkley, who was left out of Southgate’s selection through injury, has also been pictured in Mykonos.
The 26-year-old had been pictured at the island’s SantAnna Beach Club – where Abraham and Tomori had also been seen.
Tomori posted this photo from the SantAnna beach club in Mykonos last week
Michy Batshuayi (left) has been in France, while Jorginho (right) returned to Italy on holiday
Dimitris Christoforidis, owner of SantAnna confirmed to MailOnline that the Chelsea players visited the club a number of times last week.
He said: ‘I went over to say hello and made sure they were being properly looked after.
‘They were going out a lot to bars, clubs and restaurants where there are other people and places are not properly ventilated.
‘I have no concerns about my club. It’s open air, on the beach and we have no enclosed inside spaces. There are also 55 bathrooms, many only for use by our exclusive guests.
‘I’m not worried at all that they may have caught coronavirus here.’
Jorginho took his holiday in Capri, Italy, while Batshuayi has been in Cannes, France.
None of them are back in first-season training. Chelsea play their first match of pre-season away at Brighton on Saturday before opening the new Premier League campaign against the same opponents on September 14.
Before Chelsea’s players underwent their checks it emerged last week that there had been a sharp rise in cases across the league following players’ summer breaks.
Fourteen positive tests were recorded at 12 different clubs who returned to pre-season training at the start of last week, including Sheffield United, West Ham and Brighton.
It’s understood four players have not returned to pre-season training yet under Frank Lampard
There has been a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases across the Premier League after summer break