Riyad Mahrez Tests Positive For Covid-19

Algeria international, Riyad Mahrez, has tested positive with Covid-19, accompanied by his French teammate Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City club said in a statement.

Manchester City’s management confirmed that both Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte did not display symptoms of the virus, and their case was discovered through a test to detect COVID 19, as the two players were directly self-isolating away from the rest of the team, following the Premier League and the UK Government protocol on quarantine.

The club added that it hopes that both Mahrez and Laporte will recover as soon as possible for the start of the new season, with the “Pep Guardiola” squad on September 21, noting that the English Premier League will start on Saturday, 12 September except for the Manchester City match against Wolverhampton, which was postponed after the additional rest period that was awarded to its players due to their participation in the European Champions League.

In a related context, Riyad Mahrez reassured his teammates on social media of the stability of his health conditions, confirming in a publication on his Facebook account that he is fine, and he said: “I assure everyone that I’m fine and there is no need for concern”.

For reference, the cases of Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte are not the first among the stars of world football, as many players tested positive for the COVID-19, such as the Italian Juventus star Paulo Dybala, the Brazilian Neymar, the Argentine Paris Saint-Germain defender Di Maria, the world champion Paul Pogba and several other players who recovered from COVID-19.