Zinedine Zidane has Covid: Real Madrid confirm their manager has tested positive – and now faces isolation at home when his job is under pressure after Spanish Cup exit
- Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for coronavirus
- The reigning LaLiga champions confirmed the news in a statement on Friday
- The Frenchman will not be in position to oversee his side’s clash with Alaves
- Zidane had come into close contact with a positive case earlier on in the month
Real Madrid have confirmed head coach Zinedine Zidane has tested positive for Covid-19.
The Spanish champions broke the news on Friday morning after releasing a statement.
It means the former World Cup winner will not be on the sidelines for his side’s LaLiga clash with Alaves on Saturday evening. There is a possibility he may also be absent for their match against Levante, which takes place on January 30.
Real Madrid head coach has tested positive for Covid-19, the Spanish club have confirmed
The news comes two days after the club revealed Nacho Fernandez had contracted the virus
The result comes two days after the club announced defender Nacho Fernandez had also contracted the virus.
Zidane was allowed to take to the Madrid bench against Osasuna at the beginning of the month despite being in close contact with someone who had tested positive.
He delivered a negative test and so was granted permission to travel to the game, despite having sat out training sessions at his club’s training ground.
The thee-time Champions League winner’s role at the Bernabeu is currently under intense scrutiny following a disastrous Copa del Rey exit midweek.
Zidane was on the touchline against Osasuna despite coming into contact with a positive case
The 48-year-old saw his side dumped out by 10-man Alcoyano 2-1 after extra-time, defeat at the hands of the semi-professional third-tier outfit ramping up the pressure on the Frenchman.
Real Madrid have struggled for consistency during the Covid-impacted 2020-21 season, and have found themselves trailing neighbours Atletico by seven points at the top of LaLiga.
Their recent run of results have seen them held in the league by Elche and Osasuna, while they were also knocked out of the Spanish Supercopa semi-finals by eventual winners Athletic Bilbao.
Zidane admitted after Wednesday’s match that he is not in control of his future after a difficult season to date.
Zidane admitted after defeat to Alcoyano that he is not in control of his future at present
Real were humiliated by the third-tier semi-professional side in the last-32 of the Copa del Rey
‘There is always talk whenever we lose,’ said Zidane after the defeat. ‘I assume responsibility and what has to happen will happen. I am very calm.
‘The players want to win and they give everything to make that happen but sometimes it goes differently.’
It is not the first coronavirus outbreak at the club, with Eden Hazard and Casemiro both testing positive for it back in November. Defender Eder Militao had contracted the virus a week earlier.
Eden Hazard was among the players to test positive during an outbreak at the club last year
