Sevilla player tests positive for COVID-19 ahead of Europa League tie

A player in Sevilla's first team squad has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of its Europa League last-16 tie against AS Roma, the La Liga club announced on Wednesday.

The Spanish club said it conducted tests on Sunday on players, coaches and staff. The player, who was not named, is asymptomatic and is self-isolating at home.

“Sevilla ... temporarily suspended the team's training sessions and carried out disinfection tasks in the facilities, strictly following the protocols established for these situations,” the club said in a statement.

“Since the knowledge of the positive (test), the club has already carried out two new individual PCR tests on the rest of the staff. In the first one, all the tests carried out have been negative.”

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The club added that the results of the second tests conducted on Wednesday would be available on Thursday.

Sevilla, which finished fourth in La Liga this season, is set to play AS Roma on Aug. 6 in Germany over a single leg after the pandemic forced European football's governing body UEFA to suspend the competition before the first leg could be played in March.

On Tuesday, Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz tested positive, casting doubt on his participation in its Champions League tie at Manchester City next week.

Spain's second division side Almeria also announced on Wednesday that a member of its team tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

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Almeria is set to compete with Real Zaragoza, Girona and Elche in the promotion playoffs after Fuenlabrada was forced to abandon its final match when it confirmed it had 28 positive cases.

There has been a surge in COVID-19 positives in Spain with thousands of new cases reported on a daily basis in the past week, taking the country's total tally to over 300,000 cases.