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Coronavirus in sport: Stars who have tested positive so far

Arsenal football coach Arteta was one of the first to be infected with the virus on March 12 with the Gunners squad forced to self isolate quickly.

Mikel Arteta

Bengaluru, June 13: The news of former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi being tested postive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has literally shocked the world of sports.

The 40-year-old, who himself had been doing a lot of social work during the COVID-19 pandemic via 'Shahid Afridi Foundation', revealed on Twitter that he had contracted the virus.

"I've been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I've been tested and unfortunately I'm covid positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery, InshaAllah," Afridi tweeted.

Coronavirus in sport: Shahid Afridi tests positiveCoronavirus in sport: Shahid Afridi tests positive

Afridi is the the third Pakistan cricketer after Taufeeq Umar and Zafar Sarfaraz and probably the first high-profile cricketer to be infected with the deadly virus.

Scotland's Majid Haq and South Africa's Solo Nqweni are the other cricketers to have contracted the virus.

Here, myKhel.com looks at some of the big names from world of sports to have contracted the novel coronavirus.

FOOTBALL

Mikel Arteta

Arsenal football coach Arteta was one of the first to be infected with the virus on March 12 with the Gunners squad forced to self isolate quickly.

After recovering, the 38-year-old Spaniard admitted that he was concerned about infecting those around him, including his players.

Paulo Dybala

The Juventus forward confirmed in March that he and girlfriend Oriana Sabatini had tested positive for COVID-19, by which time football in Italy had been suspended due to the pandemic.

Dybala had to isolate for over a month before Juve announced he had returned two negative tests on May 6, though he is still not yet in peak condition following his illness.

Blaise Mautuidi

Juventus star Matuidi's test was positive despite the player not developing any symptoms.

However, the French midfielder was been in isolation to prevent the spread of the virus as his team-mate Daniele Rugani had also been tested positive.

Marouane Fellaini

Former Manchester United star Fellaini was the first player known to have contracted the disease in the Chinese Super League (CSL).

The Belgium international said on March 22 that he had tested positive for the virus, having just returned to China, After recoevring from the hospital, he spend 14 days in quarantine for further observation.

Callum Hudson-Oboi

Chelsea's Hudson-Oboi tested positive for the virus in March, one of the events alongside the diagnosis of Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta that led to the Premier League going into shutdown.

However, the 19-year-old only experienced minor symptoms and recovered quickly.

Adrian Mariappa

When Premier League players resumed training in May, despite strictly adhering to the social distancing guidelines, Watford defender Adrian Mariappa tested positive for COVID 19.

The defender had not shown any symptoms and the positive results came as a shock to the footballer.

TENNIS

Patrick McEnroe

Former United States Davis Cup captain Patrick, who is the younger brother of legendary John McEnroe, suffered from minor COVId-10 sympotms before recovering quickly.

The player-turned broadcaster confirmed he contracted the virus, but said he had been able to fight through it and now feels perfectly fine.

NBA

Kevin Durant

Ten-time NBA All-Star Durant and three of his Brooklyn Nets team-mates tested positive in the third week of March.

The 31-year-old was yet to play for the Nets since joining ahead of this season because of an Achilles injury when he contracted the dreaded virus.

Marcus Smart

Boston Celtics star Smart was one of the earliest casualties as NBA quickly decided to suspend the season on March 11 after a Utah Jazz player tested positive moments before they were due to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Later, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of Utah Jazz's team and staff were cleared after self-isolating.

UFC

Ronald Souza

The Brazilian was scheduled to face Uriah Hall in a middleweight UFC 249 bout on the preliminary card in Florida in the second week of May.

However, Souza and two of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19 just before the bout while being asymptomatic and were left to be self-isolate.

CRICKET

Shahid Afridi

Afridi is probably the most high-profile cricketer to test positive so far. The 40-year-old, who still plays Twenty20 cricket has requested prayers for his speed recovery.

The flamboyant all-rounder had been helping with coronavirus relief efforts in his homeland, where 2,551 have died after contracting the virus.

Story first published: Saturday, June 13, 2020, 17:00 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 13, 2020