Daily Times

MADRID: Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos faced a new setback in a season littered with injury problems when his club said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ramos has been nursing a calf injury since April 1 which led him to miss his side’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg and Saturday’s 2-1 victory over rivals Barcelona in La Liga. The central defender, 35, who underwent knee surgery in February, had already been ruled out of the second leg away to Liverpool on Wednesday and is not expected to play again until the end of the month. His COVID-19 infection is unlikely to halt his return to action, although it does mean he will be kept away from Real’s training ground until he produces a negative test. Ramos has played 670 games while scoring 101 goals for Real since joining from Sevilla in 2005 but has an uncertain future with the Spanish champions as his current contract expires at the end of June. Real have suffered more injuries than any other side in La Liga this season but their troubles have not affected their form lately. Zinedine Zidane’s side have won their last six matches in all competitions and Saturday’s win over Barca took them one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid.