Croatia captain, Domagoj Vida tested positive for covid-19 after he played first half of the clash against Turkey

Croatia captain, Domagoj Vida played 45 minutes of his side's 3-3 draw with Turkey before finding out he had tested positive for coronavirus

 

The 31-year-old centre-back who plays for Bekista in Turkey had returned a negative Covid-19 test on Monday along with his national side team-mates and underwent another routine test on Wednesday morning ahead of the Turkey game and Nations League match against Sweden scheduled for Saturday.

 

Vida started the game against Turkey but had to be substituted for Filip Uremovic as a precaution after Turkey's team management were informed of a potentially positive result before the second half of the clash.

 

 

The defender was immediately isolated from the squad before another test confirmed his positive result. 

 

'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,' a Croatia Football Federation statement read.

 

'This is a common test procedure, and a 'suspicious' finding is retested to confirm the result.

 

'As at that time the coach Zlatko Dalic had already made the decision to change Vida, the medical service of the national team isolated Vida according to all epidemiological measures until the confirmation of the test results.

 

'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 will spend the next few days in self-isolation in Istanbul, home of his club Besiktas, while the team travel to Stockholm.