SAN FRANCISCO, November 13, (THEWILL) –Â Alan Browne, Republic of Ireland midfielder, who featured in Thursday night’s 3-0 friendly defeat against England has tested positive for coronavirus.
Browne, Preston’s central defensive midfielder, who played the full match at Wembley, has been isolated from the rest of the squad ahead of Ireland’s next Nations League fixture against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday.
However, it remains concerning for Gareth Southgate’s England team, who travel to face Belgium on Sunday before hosting Iceland next Wednesday, November 18. This latter game at Wembley had to be greenlighted through a special permission by the UK government before the English Football Association was allowed to host the game because of an existing travel ban for their opponents.
The ban imposed on arrivals from Denmark is due to a new coronavirus strain that has spread from mink to humans. Under the new government rules, Iceland would have been denied entry as they first play Denmark in Copenhagen on Sunday.
Without the exception, the FA would have been forced to find a neutral venue to stage the game, in Germany or Albania, for instance, or risk forfeiting the fixture entirely. But, the Government later exempted the Icelandic players of the need to self-isolate.
Regarding the news of Browne’s positive test, a Football Association of Ireland statement read:
“The Football Association of Ireland can confirm Ireland midfielder Alan Browne has tested positive for COVID-19.
“The player has been isolated from the group as per COVID-19 protocols, and the HSE and UEFA have been informed of this development.
“There are no close contacts of the player and the rest of the staff & squad tested negative ahead of Sunday’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Wales in Cardiff.”
The midfielder is the second Ireland player to return a positive result this week, with West Brom striker Callum Robinson having completely missed the England match for the same reason.
Last month, Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah had to sit out their Euro 2020 play-off semi-final in Slovakia because of close contacts with a member of staff who later tested positive on the flight to Bratislava, while four more players were withdrawn on the squad’s return to Dublin.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
