Domagoj Vida Found Out About Positive Covid Test Half Way Through Turkey Game

Croatia captain Domagoj Vida started his team's game against Turkey on Wednesday night, before finding out he had tested positive for Covid-19.

There has been plenty of questions about the need for international breaks in the midst of a world pandemic, with players travelling from all over the world to meet up with their national teams, and especially with such a packed schedule of games.

Players have been getting lots of tests to reduce the chances of spreading the virus but there has still been issues, with Cristiano Ronaldo testing positive during the previous international break in October.

On Wednesday night Croatia kicked off against Turkey despite not getting their results from an earlier test and Vida had to be substituted at half-time after finding out about his positive test during the break.

A statement from the Croatian football association explained the situation, saying, "The medical service of the Croatian national team received initial information at the end of the break between the two halves that there was one potentially positive result. This is a common test procedure, and a "suspicious" finding is retested to confirm the result.

"As the selector Zlatko Dalic had already made a decision to change Vida at that time , the medical service of the national team isolated Vida according to all epidemiological measures until the test results were confirmed.

"Vida will, in accordance with regulations, spend the next few days in self-isolation in Istanbul.

"All other national team members and staff members, who tested negative, are scheduled to travel to Stockholm. It is taken into account that the national team complied with all epidemiological measures, in accordance with Uefa's Return to Play protocol."

Vida was one of Croatia's best players at the 2018 World Cup. Image: PA Images

The two sides played out an exciting 3-3 draw in their friendly and fortunately no one else tested positive for Covid on Wednesday.

The captain will now miss the side's Nations League games against Sweden and Portugal in the next week and will have to isolate.

Fortunately there are now more international breaks until 2021.

Topics: Football News, Nations League, Turkey, Croatia, International Football

Ryan Sidle

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