Ben Chilwell back in England training as whole squad test negative for coronavirus
Written by News on 17/11/2020
Ben Chilwell has returned to England training following a back spasm, as all 22 players in the squad tested negative for coronavirus.
Chilwell picked up the injury in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Belgium, which ended England’s hopes of reaching the Nations League finals.
The Chelsea left-back is fit enough to return to training alongside his team-mates, but it remains unclear whether he will feature against Iceland on Wednesday.
The Premier League is confident there is currently no risk that any of this weekend’s matches will have to be postponed, despite a significant spike in the number of positive coronavirus cases.
Sixteen positive cases were recorded in the last seven days involving players or staff inside Premier League clubs – four times as many failed tests compared to the previous week, and six times higher than any other week since the extensive testing at clubs began at the start of September.
That figure does not include players who have tested positive for the virus whilst away with their international teams. There have been a number of high-profile cases that cannot yet be included in the Premier League’s statistics.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny have both tested positive while away with Egypt, as has Tottenham and Republic of Ireland defender Matt Doherty, who will miss Saturday’s game against Manchester City.
On Tuesday morning, the FAI confirmed there have been no more positive tests in the run-up to their Nations League game against Bulgaria on Wednesday night.
There are about 400 players and staff from Premier League clubs away on international duty, and there are very strict protocols for when they return, before they can be allowed back into their respective training grounds.
Whether or not a player or staff member has tested negative with their national governing body, they will all have to test negative with a specific PCR test carried out for the Premier League, before they are allowed to return to training.
The Premier League works very hard to try to help clubs out in this respect, and there may well be a number of tests carried out at airports as players return to the UK, to give maximum time for results to be returned.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Ben Chilwell back in England training as whole squad test negative for coronavirus
