Real Madrid on tenterhooks over Luka Modric
The Spanish champions have already had to do without three players due to concerns over covid-19 and now they await news after Croatia's Domagoj Vida tested positive.
Real Madrid are back on coronavirus alert, this time for Luka Modric. The positive covid-19 test result for fellow Croatian international Domagoj Vida has raised questions about potential transmission after the two players were involved for their national side at the beginning of the break from club football.
Madrid monitoring Modric moves
On Tuesday, Vida was photographed with Modric on the pitch of Vodafone Park, the Besiktas stadium where the defender normally plies his trade, and where they were going through their preparations. It was the setting for Wednesday night's clash between Turkey and Croatia. By that point, Vida had not yet undergone the test that would later yield a positive result.
The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) explained in a statement how the events panned out. Their medical services first got word of a potential positive result at half-time of the match, although they were suspicious of it and a new test was being carried out to confirm it. At midnight local time, approximately one and a half hours after the end of the match, they received that confirmation.
Real Madrid news:
Vida had successfully passed the control to which all the Croatian internationals were subjected to on Monday in order to be declared fit for the match in Istanbul. There was a further check on Wednesday morning, the one that corresponds with this coming Saturday's match in Sweden. Once the medical team received word they proceeded to isolate Vida, who had been in the starting line up but was replaced at half-time by Dalic before test information had been made known.
Croatia also has a match scheduled for Tuesday 17 November (against Portugal in Split) and, according to UEFA protocol, the players would not have had to undergo new tests on Sunday or Monday. Due to the positive of Vida they are now to go through further tests today, Thursday.
Madrid's covid-19 challenges
Real Madrid has already been hit by the coronavirus in recent days. Militao tested positive on Monday 2 November before the Champions League match against Inter Milan and on the following Saturday, the day before the Valencia league game, both Casemiro and Hazard tested positive and were ruled out of what would end up being a very disappointing trip for Zinedine Zidane and co.
While the defender will be back in time for the return of the competition after the international break, the midfielder and winger are touch and go given their respective quarantine periods.