Barcelona coronavirus cases reach 10 this week as three more test positive

 

Barcelona now have 10 players isolating due to COVID-19 ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Mallorca.

Another three Barcelona players have tested positive for COVID-19, the club confirmed on Thursday.

It means Barca have seen as many as 10 players return positive results this week alone.

Sergino Dest, Philippe Coutinho and Ez Abde are the latest to go into quarantine, with Barca's numbers dwindling ahead of Sunday's trip to Real Mallorca.

Dani Alves and Clement Lenglet were the first two to test positive on Monday, followed by Jordi Alba and Alex Balde the following day.

Ousmane Dembele, Samuel Umtiti and Gavi were then added to that list on Wednesday when they also returned positive tests.

As such, Barca look set to be without at least 10 players for their first match of 2022, leading to suggestions it could be called off.

However, Spanish league regulations make postponements rare even amid the worst COVID-19 outbreaks.

Teams will still have to play so long as they have 13 available players from their first and second teams.

Clubs must continue to adhere to the rule that dictates a minimum of seven players registered to the senior team are on the pitch at the same time.

But that minimum can drop to five players if teams have fewer than seven professionals available for selection.