Man City players Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte test positive for coronavirus

Pair are self-isolating after returning positive Covid-19 test results ahead of the new Premier League season

Manchester City players Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte have tested positive for coronavirus, the Premier League club have announced.

The club issued a statement to reveal that the Egyptian forward and french defender are self-isolating from the rest of the squad, having returned positive Covid-19 test results.

Neither player is suffering from any symptoms of coronavirus, but they will nevertheless follow the government’s coronavirus protocols and stay away from the club until they return two negative test results.

A club statement read: “Manchester City FC can confirm that Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte have tested positive for Covid-19.

“Both players are currently observing a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine. Neither is displaying symptoms of the virus.

“Everyone at the Club wishes Riyad and Aymeric a speedy recovery ahead of their return to training and the new season.”

The new Premier League season gets underway this Saturday, but the pair could still feature in City’s first game of the season as they are not in action in round one due to their recent European commitments, with their first game of the 2020/21 campaign coming on 21 September against Wolves.

The Premier League are braced for a flurry of positive tests across the 20 clubs as players return from their summer holidays, with Liverpool and Chelsea among those to have already been affected by coronavirus cases during pre-season. Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is another high-profile player who has contracted coronavirus this summer.

But with the new season rapidly approaching, clubs will be nervous that positive tests will now impact who is and isn’t available for each fixture, with the campaign due to begin on Saturday 12 September.