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The Swiss Football Federation has announced that Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji has tested positive for COVID-19 on international duty and has gone into isolation. The federation reports that he is asymptomatic. “The game [against Croatia] can take place as planned,” they remarked.
Der SFVwurde heute über ein positives Covid-Testresultat von Manuel Akanji informiert. Er befindet sich deshalb präventiv in Isolation und zeigt keine Symptome. Weitere Abklärungen sind im Gange.
— Nati (@SFV_ASF) October 7, 2020
Das Spiel kann wie geplant stattfinden. https://t.co/cMHQBcwz2a
Akanji is not, in fact, the only COVID-19 case on the Swiss national team: Xherdan Shaqiri also tested positive for the virus, but Akanji apparently did not catch it from him.
The Swiss Federation writes, “The infection cannot be traced back to Xherdan Shaqiri. The SFV received oral information previously to the effect that Shaqiri’s positive test result probably stems from an earlier infection and he therefore is not contagious. This was the result of an additional blood test with clear evidence of antibodies.”
Akanji will thus miss Switzerland’s upcoming international games, today against Croatia, and then against Spain (10/10, Madrid) and Germany (10/13, Cologne).
If Akanji remains in quarantine for 14 days, as advised by the Robert Koch Institute, he will miss Borussia Dortmund’s upcoming away games against Hoffenheim (10/17) and SS Lazio in the UEFA Champions League group stage (10/20).
Gute Besserung, Manuel!