Athletico Madrid striker, Luis Suarez has been ruled out of the clash with his former club Barcelona after testing positive for the dreaded COVID-19 while on international duty with Uruguay.
The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) confirmed that the lanky striker tested positive for the virus, which also ruled him out of the World Cup qualifiers against Brazil tomorrow.
According to the association, Suarez is in good health and adhering to self-isolation guidelines. The team’s goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz and backroom staff member Matias Faral were also infected in the Uruguay camp.
“The Uruguayan Football Association reports that swabs have been carried out on all the members of the senior team, resulting in the players Luis Suarez, Rodrigo Munoz and the official Matias Faral having tested positive for Covid-19, while all other tests are negative.
“The three members mentioned are in good health and the corresponding measures have already been implemented,” a statement from the AUF reads.
Cavani to strike alone in the absence of Suarez due to COVID-19
This means Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani will be the focal man for Uruguay, having partnered with Suarez in most recent games, scoring from the spot in a 3-0 win over Colombia on Friday.
Suarez will be disappointed not to have the chance to play against his former club Barcelona, not due to an injury but dreaded COVID-19 at the weekend. Anyways there will be another time since they are both in the same league.
So far, Suarez has scored five goals in six games in La Liga since leaving Camp Nou over the summer. He has been a key figure in Atletico’s early title push.
Athletico is currently third on the La Liga table, three points behind leaders Real Sociedad with two games in hand. They are also one point above Real Madrid and six clear of Barca.
Athletico coach, Diego Simeone had earlier this month praised Suarez for being instrumental in Atletico’s form. He added that the 33-year-old was bringing the best out of team-mates such as record signing Joao Felix.
Vamos equipo GRAN PARTIDO para seguir sumando +3 👌👏 🔴⚪️ @Atleti #aupaatleti #grandeequipo #siemprepositivo #seguircreyendo pic.twitter.com/YxgWwHJYr5
— Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) November 7, 2020
“I believe that all this is generated from the presence of Suarez,” Simeone said in a press conference.
“With the likes of [Diego] Costa and [Alvaro] Morata before him, they had a lot of other characteristics, but we have been looking for other qualities.
“Luis has needed more people close to him, close to where he can hurt the opposition, and that is the team’s goal.
“We had to adapt to play with [Radamel] Falcao, with Costa and now with Suarez.”
