Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny has become the second Egyptian footballer to test positive for COVID-19 during the ongoing FIFA international break.
The 28-year-old Egyptian defensive midfielder tested positive for the dreaded virus a few days after his country’s teammate and Liverpool talisman, Mohamed Salah, tested positive for the virus while on national duty.
In the case of Elneny, his coronavirus test result came out after he had arrived in Togo where the Egyptian football team is expected to play against the West African country on Tuesday, November 17.
Unlike Mohamed Salah that was not able to play any part in Eygpt’s November 14 meeting with Togo in Caro, Mohamed Elneny played in the match that ended 1-0 in favor of Egypt.
Grateful for the victory and for contributing to the goal. The best is yet to come. 🇪🇬💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/zyArWMOmam
— Mohamed ELNeny (@ElNennY) November 15, 2020
As it stands, the Arsenal’s man will not be available for the return match because he has started to self-isolate in Caro, his country’s capital.
The Egyptian Football Association confirmed that Mohamed Elneny was not showing any symptoms at the time of testing positive for the virus. The FA also confirmed that the player had earlier tested negative for the virus thrice but the test he carried out when he arrived in Togo came out positive.
When the result of the test came out, the player had to be flown back to Caro where he will self-isolate for 10 days in line with medical protocol.
This means that the defensive midfielder who has become one of the most important players for Arsenal’s coach, Mike Arteta, since he returned from Besiktas where he spent a season on loan, will not be available for Arsenal’s league match against Leeds United on Sunday and against Molde in Europa League on November 26.
So far this season, Mohamed Elneny has played 11 times in all competitions for Arsenal without a goal or an assist.
Meanwhile, the Premier League has announced on Monday that 16 positive coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the league out of the 1,207 tests the league carried out between November 9 and 15, 2020.
A statement from the Premier League read: “The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 9 November and Sunday 15 November, 1,207 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.
“Of these, there were 16 new positive tests.
“Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for 10 days.”
