Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for the coronavirus, the nation’s football federation has said.
In a statement, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said the 35-year-old forward “is doing well, without symptoms, and is in isolation”.
The federation did not say when he tested positive.
On Monday, 12th October, the Juventus forward posted a photo on Twitter showing him and the rest of the Portugal squad having a meal together. The players were all close to each other at a table, with Ronaldo apparently taking the photo himself at the front end.
Along with the tweet, Ronaldo wrote, in Portuguese, “United on and off the field!”
The federation said Ronaldo’s result prompted another round of tests for the rest of the Portugal squad. It said everyone else in the team had tested negative.
The squad was scheduled to practise normally on Tuesday ahead of the match against Sweden in Lisbon.
“The game (against Sweden), counting for the qualification phase of the Nations League, is scheduled for Wednesday, at 19:45, in Alvalade,”the federation confirmed.
Ronaldo has played in both of Portugal’s matches so far during the international break, starting in a friendly against Spain in Lisbon and then playing the full game in their 0-0 draw with France on Sunday. He has been dropped from the country’s Nations League match against Sweden on Wednesday.
The stalemate in Paris means Portugal and France are level on seven points, with Ronaldo’s side topping the group on goal difference.
Wednesday’s opponents Sweden are bottom of the group, having failed to pick up a single point from their first three matches.
In the reverse fixture in September, Ronaldo became the first European player to reach 100 international goals after scoring twice in Portugal’s 2-0 win. He has set his sights on Iranian Ali Daei’s record for a male international of 109 goals.
Ronaldo will surely also miss upcoming matches of his Italian club Juventus after the positive test.
Juventus visit Crotone in the Serie A on Saturday and have their Champions League opener next Tuesday at Dynamo Kiev.
He can only return to action after testing negative again.
The forward is not the first among the world’s most famous footballers to contract COVID-19.
Others include his Juventus team-mate Paulo Dybala; Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel di Maria and Marquinhos; Paul Pogba of Manchester United; and AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
