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 under Government guidelines after they were pictured on holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos before pre-season training began last weekend.
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 may offer the Three Lions a headache with their Nations League tie away at Iceland coming up next Saturday.
Midfielder Barkley, who was left out of Southgate’s squad through injury, has also been pictured in Mykonos.
Jorginho took his holiday in Capri, Italy, while Batshuayi has been in Cannes, France.
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.
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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.
Mykonos has proven to be a go-to hotspot for Premier League footballers this summer as an alternative to the usual haunts of Las Vegas, Ibiza and Marbella – all locations where the Foreign Office advise against all non-essential travel.
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was handed a 21-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday after being found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery following a fracas on the Greek island of Mykonos last week.
Yet he may have to wait up to two years before his appeal is heard due to a backlog of legal cases in Greece.
Meanwhile, Chelsea confirmed the signing of left back Ben Chilwell for around £50million from Leicester. And they are close to taking their summer spending spree past the £220m mark by sealing a deal for German star Kai Havertz.
Attacking midfielder Havertz is finalising his club record move from Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. Veteran defender Thiago Silva, 35, is also set to join on a free after leaving Champions League runners-up Paris Saint-Germain.
Chilwell signed a five-year deal worth up to £190,000 per week after passing a medical which included checks on a heel injury from the end of last season.
The 23-year-old is Lampard’s third major signing, taking his summer spending to around £136m following the signings of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and forward Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.
Chelsea are backing Lampard in the transfer market as they bid to cut the gap to runaway champions Liverpool and runners up Manchester City.
Chilwell has long been Lampard’s No 1 left back target. Sportsmail revealed in October that Chelsea had emerged as frontrunners for his signature following previous interest from Manchester City.
As well as Havertz and Silva, Chelsea are also close to snapping up free agent Malang Sarr, before allowing the 21-year-old French defender to go out on loan. They still remain in the market for a goalkeeper and another centre back. Either Emerson Palmieri or Marcos Alonso will leave following Chilwell’s arrival.
Daily Mail
