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LATEST NEWS: Irish footballer Alan Browne came down with coronavirus while playing 90 minutes against England last night, as the midfielder tested positive this morning to sound the alarms before Iceland visits Wembley after his trip to Denmark.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Alan Browne tested positive for coronavirus following Thursday’s friendly 3-0 loss to England.
Preston’s Browne, who played the full 90 minutes at Wembley, has been cut off from the rest of the group ahead of the Irish Nations League game against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday.
However, it will be of concern to Gareth Southgate’s England team, who will travel to face Belgium on Sunday before hosting Iceland next Wednesday, a game that will take place at Wembley after the UK government gave the FA special permission to host the game despite a travel ban for its opponents.
Irishman Alan Browne (right) tested positive for coronavirus after playing for England last night
Browne played all 90 minutes for Ireland at Wembley and has been cut off from the group
Gareth Southgate’s England team plays Belgium before hosting Iceland next Wednesday
The England team underwent Covid-19 testing on Friday morning as part of normal UEFA protocols, according to reports, before Sunday’s game in Belgium and now they face an anxious wait for the results.
The Three Lions’ clash with Iceland was originally in doubt after a ban on arrivals from Denmark was imposed due to a new strain of coronavirus that has spread from mink to humans.
Under the new rules, Iceland would be denied entry as they will play Denmark for the first time in Copenhagen on Sunday.
Had they not been granted an exemption from the ban, the FA would have been forced to find a neutral venue to host the game, be it in Germany or Albania, or it would risk losing.
But the government later confirmed that Icelandic players will be able to enter without isolating themselves.
Iceland (left) will travel to London from Denmark as they have a match there on Sunday
Iceland will face Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions at Wembley (above) on Wednesday night
Meanwhile, regarding Browne’s positive test, a statement from the Irish Football Association said: ‘The Irish Football Association can confirm that Irish midfielder Alan Browne has tested positive for COVID-19.
‘The player has been isolated from the group according to 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 and the team tested negative before Sunday’s UEFA Nations League game against Wales in Cardiff.”
UK government guidelines state that anyone with coronavirus or who has symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days, meaning Browne will miss Ireland’s games against Wales, Bulgaria on Wednesday, and the Preston championship clash. against Sheffield next Saturday.
Despite Browne’s positive test on Friday morning, the rest of the Irish team tested negative.
Browne is the second Ireland player to test positive this week, and West Brom forward Callum Robinson missed England’s game for the same reason.
Aaron Connolly and Adam Idah had to be left out of last month’s Euro 2020 play-off semi-final in Slovakia as close contacts of a staff member who later tested positive on the flight to Bratislava.
Additionally, four more players were withdrawn on the team’s return to Dublin after their defeat in the semi-finals.
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