Cristiano Ronaldo’s Teammate, Daniele Rugani, Tests Positive for Coronavirus

Italy continues to get hit hard with the COVD-19 outbreak and it has officially hit one of the country’s top soccer clubs. On Wednesday, it was announced that Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive for coronavirus. He is the teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo who is considered one of the top soccer players in the world. Ronaldo is not with the team as he’s back at his home in Portugal.

“Ronaldo has not trained and remains in Madeira pending developments related to the current health emergency,” Juventus said in its training report on Wednesday, per CNN. Rugani is the first player in Serie A to test positive for coronavirus. In a statement, the team said it is “activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including the census of those who have had contact with him,” per CBS Sports.

Rugani played in a game on Sunday against Inter Milan. Due to the coronavirus spreading across the county, the game was played in front of no fans. The team is scheduled to play on Tuesday against Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League.

Rugani is not the only professional athlete to test positive for coronavirus. On Wednesday, NBA announced it was suspending the season after it was reported that Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, it was reported Gobert’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell, also tested positive for coronavirus.

“The NBA announced that a player on the Utah Jazz has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19. The test result was reported shortly prior to the tip-off of Wednesday’s game between the Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena,” the league said in a statement. “At that time, Wednesday’s game was canceled. The affected player was not in the arena.

The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of Wednesday’s schedule of games until further notice. The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic. “

As far as other leagues, the NCAA will continue to move forward with the national basketball tournament but fans won’t be allowed in the arenas. As for the NFL, the start of the league year is set for Mar. 18 and that will not be pushed back as of now.