Neymar tests positive for COVID-19

PSG had already said on Monday that two unnamed players had reported back with coronavirus symptoms following a holiday

Neymar tests positive for COVID-19

Neymar

PSG had already said on Monday that two unnamed players had reported back with coronavirus symptoms following a holiday. L'Equipe reported the players in question at the time were Argentinian duo Di Maria and Paredes. Those two, and Neymar, were among several players who travelled to Ibiza following the Champions League final, mixing with friends and family after spending the previous weeks isolated in a secure sanitary 'bubble' with teammates in Portugal.

Postponement raises questions

That was after the controversial decision was taken to postpone the game at newly-promoted Lens, initially scheduled for last Saturday, in order to give the PSG squad a break following their Champions League 'Final Eight' exertions. PSG, France's richest club, have played five competitive games in the last six months. Mauro Icardi, Ander Herrera, Keylor Navas and Marquinhos were also in Ibiza, and the latter's wife revealed on Instagram that the Brazilian defender had been placed in isolation while awaiting the results of his own test for Covid-19.

After playing Lens on September 10, PSG are then due to entertain bitter rivals Marseille three days later. In the meantime, various members of coach Thomas Tuchel's squad are set to play for their countries in the UEFA Nations League, with Kylian Mbappe and Presnel Kimpembe in France's squad for a game against Croatia just 48 hours before their club's scheduled return to action. But their South American stars including Neymar are not involved in international action. Strict French league rules stipulate that collective team training sessions must be cancelled if a club has at least four positive tests over an eight-day period, with match postponements possible.

The cases raise questions about why the French league decided to postpone PSG's match in Lens, only for so many of their players to travel abroad on holiday during a pandemic. The last French season was ended early, with 10 rounds of matches left unplayed, because of the health crisis, and the start of the new French season has already been impacted. In recent weeks, several Ligue 1 clubs have reported positive tests, including Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Rennes, Nantes and Montpellier. Marseille's game against Saint-Etienne on August 21, which was set to be the season opener, was postponed.

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