Six Espanyol players test positive for COVID-19

Raul de Tomas Gomez (R) of RCD Espanyol duels for the ball with Roberto Torres of CA Osasuna during La Liga in Pamplona, Spain, March 8, 2020. /VCG

Six players at Espanyol have tested positive for coronavirus, the Spanish La Liga club said on Tuesday.

"We had confirmation this afternoon that six members of the first team and the technical staff of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona have returned positive results for COVID-19 tests carried out during the last hours," Espanyol said in a statement.

Reports suggest that four players and two staff are tested positive, without giving specific names.

"All of them are suffering from mild symptoms and they are complying with the medical recommendations."

Chinese striker Wu Lei, who joined the club in January 2019, is not on the list, according to his agent. Wu is said to be undergoing quarantine in Barcelona.

Espanyol will conduct more tests to its club employees in the next few days, with confirmed numbers expected to rise.

Wu Lei of RCD Espanyol vies for the ball with Pervis Estupinan of CA Osasuna during La Liga in Pamplona, Spain, March 8, 2020. /VCG

Earlier, another Spanish club

Valencia

announced that about 35 percent of the club's players and staff who clashed with Atalanta in Milan last month for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League last-16 tie have tested positive for COVID-19.

All La Liga matches are suspended for two weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, 76-year-old former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz, head of the club from 1995-2000, has been admitted to a hospital and is in critical condition.

(With input from agencies)