German football giants Bayern Munich have become the new victims of the deadly coronavirus after their four players and an assistant coach tested positive for Covid-19.
They will miss the start of training on January 3. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, French winger Kingsley Coman, midfielder Corentin Tolisso, UK-born Omar Richards and Germany’s Dino Toppmöller are all isolating at home.
From the Bayern update, it appears as though the trio of Neuer, Coman, and Tolisso picked up the virus while they were on winter vacation in different countries.
German custodian Neuer was in the Maldives, Coman was in Dubai and his national teammate Tolisso was in France.
Rescheduled training dates
Training for the Bayern team was scheduled to begin on January 2 but due to the new measures and corona cases the training will begin on January 3 with all players, coaches, and backroom staff undergoing a PCR test.
"Manuel Neuer, Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso and Omar Richards have tested positive for coronavirus.
"They are all doing well, as is assistant coach Dino Toppmoller, who has also tested positive for the virus. They are all isolating at home," the club said in an official statement.
It’s not yet known just how long the players will have to miss matches. It would all depend on how long ago they tested positive and if the Bundesliga will stick to the two-week absence rule for positive tests.
It would, however, not be surprising at all to see the four players to miss the January 7 match against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Bundesliga.
Nine-point lead
The defending champions are currently nine points clear at the top of the domestic league at the mid-point of the season.
Earlier, in December, the Bavarians announced that they would be without Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich for up to four weeks after he contracted the virus.
Kimmich had sparked a controversy in October when he said that he had declined a vaccine against Covid due to "personal concerns" but last month said he was happy to receive a jab.
Bayern restart their league defence on January 7 (Friday) when they will host Borussia Monchengladbach, which will be played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
