Coronavirus: Third Brighton player tests positive for COVID-19

A third Brighton player has tested positive for coronavirus, the club has confirmed.

The unnamed player is going to isolate for 14 days while he recovers from COVID-19.

It is believed that the rest of the squad are going to continue their training – either at home or through solo sessions at Brighton’s training ground – as has been the case during the lockdown.

Two other players have recovered after contracting coronavirus earlier in the pandemic, but it is not clear whether they have returned to training yet.

Brighton’s chief executive Paul Barber told Sky Sports News that the latest confirmed case in the first-team squad came despite the strict safety precautions that have been put in place during the outbreak.

On Sunday, he said: “It is a concern. Unfortunately we’ve had a third player test positive yesterday.

“Despite all the measures we have all been taking over the last few weeks, when the players haven’t been involved in taking any significant training at all, we have still suffered another player testing positive for the virus.

“There are concerns and I think it is normal for all clubs to have those concerns. We want to make sure we do all that we can that the protocols that are put into place are safe and secure and mitigate the risk.”

The confirmed case comes ahead of a crunch Premier League meeting on Monday, where clubs are expected to vote on plans to complete the season at neutral venues.

Brighton has criticised the proposals – insisting that the campaign should be played out on a home-and-away basis.

Mr Barber added: “People will accuse us of self-interest, I totally understand that, but at this stage of the season there is self-interest at every level of the table.

“There is as much self-interest at the top as there is at the bottom, there is as much self-interest in the middle as there is at the bottom.

“Everyone has different objectives for the season and we are all looking to play out the season, if it is safe to do so.

“We really do want to play and we want to make sure the competition stays as fair as it can be despite these exceptional circumstances that we are facing.”

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Meanwhile, Spain’s La Liga has confirmed that five players in its top two football divisions have tested positive for coronavirus.

The unnamed sport stars are asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease, but will go into quarantine and be unable to return to group training until they have had two negative tests.

The Spanish league had resumed group training this week with a view to resuming their league in June.

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: Third Brighton player tests positive for COVID-19