Juventus defender Rugani ‘doing well’
MILAN: Juventus defender Daniele Rugani, the first Italian top-flight footballer diagnosed with coronavirus, said on Monday he was “doing well” and hoped his case “served to sensitise everyone” to the illness.
“I’m fine, I reassure everyone. I’ve always been quite well, I haven’t had any serious symptoms. I consider myself lucky,” Rugani told Juventus TV.
The 25-year-old Italian international was diagnosed last Wednesday with the Turin club saying he was asymptomatic.
Since then a total of 11 Serie A players have being diagnosed with the illness which has killed more than 1,800 people in the Mediterranean country.
“There was a huge media explosion right away. A lot of people wrote to me and I thank them,” said Rugani, who is currently self-isolating in a room at the team’s J-Hotel.
“I hope it served to raise awareness, especially those who had not understood the seriousness of this problem. I’m going to get over it, we’re going to get by and I hope we’ll all come out even stronger.
“The quarantine is tough, even more so because you are alone, so I can’t wait to embrace all my loved ones.”
Meanwhile, Valencia, the first Spanish football club to report coronavirus infections, said on Monday that 35 percent of their players and staff members have tested positive for the disease.
The club said the virus spread among the squad following last month’s trip to Milan, “an area confirmed as ‘high risk’ by the Italian authorities days afterwards”, for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Atalanta.
“Despite the strict measures adopted by the club” after the match, “these latest results show that the exposure inherent to such matches has caused a positive test rate of around 35%,” Valencia said in a statement.
“All cases are asymptomatic and those involved are currently isolated at home, receiving medical assessment and carrying out their scheduled training plan.”
On Sunday, Valencia announced that five of the club’s players and staff had tested positive for Covid-19, including Argentine defender Ezequiel Garay.
Spain is the second worst affected country by the virus in Europe after Italy.