Chelsea coach, Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that winger Christian Pulisic has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating.
Pulisic will now miss Chelsea’s Premier League London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, August 22.
His diagnosis comes a week after Ruben Loftus-Cheek contracted Covid-19, while Arsenal have also been dealing with their own outbreak after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and Alex Runnarson were all affected.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed: “Christian has unfortunately had a positive test and needs to follow the protocols. He’s not been training and is not available for the game.”
The German also warned his players to beware a backlash from Arsenal as they battle their own Covid situation and look to bounce back from their opening day defeat to Brentford.
“I don’t know what their team will be. It’s a difficult one to predict. For me the situation, when I put myself into their shoes, is that they can play the underdog role with the complications they had with Covid and that they lost their first match.
“In pre-season, we saw the energy the stadium could produce. They had a bit of a rough start and from their perspective, it can be a help that a big rival from within the city arrives.
“It can create a situation where they stick together and try to win their crowd over with a strong performance. So we should be prepared for the best Arsenal possible. They have a strong coach, strong team, strong signings, so we should prepare for the best Arsenal possible.