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England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans for Euro 2020 have been rocked by the news Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell have to self-isolate.
The Scotland FA announced earlier that Billy Gilmour must quarantine for 10 days after testing positive for Covid following the draw against England on Friday night.
Gilmour’s Chelsea colleagues Mount, who played the entire 90 minutes of the Wembley clash, and Chilwell, who was an unused substitute, were photographed standing next to the Scot after the game.
And the England pair are now required to self-isolate, which could prevent them from participating in tomorrow’s final group game versus Czech Republic.
They could also be forced to miss the start of the knockout stages which start next week, while Public Health England have been in contact with the FA over the issue.
England stars Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell must self-isolate after being recorded with Scotland’s Billy Gilmour on Friday
Mount embraced Chelsea colleague Gilmour – who has now tested positive for Covid-19 – after the draw at Wembley
Mount and Chilwell were among the full England squad to return to training on Monday but both now could be unavailable
England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans for Euro 2020 have been rocked by the news that two players must self-isolate
In a statement released on Monday afternoon, the FA said: ‘As a precaution at this time and in consultation with Public Health England [PHE], Ben Chilwell and Mason Mount are isolating after interaction with Scotland player Billy Gilmour at Friday’s match.
‘The pair will be kept away from the rest of the England players and wider support team, pending further discussions with PHE.
‘The entire squad had lateral flow tests on Monday afternoon and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday’s UEFA pre-match PCR tests.
‘We will continue to follow all Covid-19 protocols and the UEFA testing regime, while remaining in close contact with PHE.’
The news does come after all 26 players of Southgate’s England squad trained together on Monday after each returned negative Covid-19 tests.
Similarly, the 25 remaining players in the Scotland squad were not deemed close contacts with Gilmour and therefore also all trained together on Monday, after returning negative lateral-flow tests.
Scotland captain Andy Robertson, earlier on Monday, deleted a video of himself playing table tennis with Glimour and John McGinn.
Soon after news broke of Gilmour’s positive test on Monday morning, a clip surfaced from the team hotel where the young midfielder is seen enjoying some ping-pong.
Taken on Robertson’s Instagram story, the video shows Gilmour, along with McGinn, unwinding with a game in the team hotel.
The video has since been removed from the Liverpool full-back’s Instagram account, with man-of-the-match from Friday night Gilmour definitely out of the Scots’ do-or-die encounter against Croatia at Hampden Park tomorrow.
But the latest news is a tough pill for England boss Southgate to swallow as he readies his side for tomorrow night’s final Group D clash against the Czechs.
Mount has been a key part of Southgate’s team so far, with the Champions League-winning Chelsea attacking midfielder having started the win against Croatia and the draw versus Scotland.
Chilwell, however, has not yet featured on the pitch, with Kieran Trippier and Luke Shaw preferred at left back in the first two games.
Gilmour (right) was named man-of-the-match after the draw at Wembley and his absence is a huge blow for Scotland
Chilwell is yet to feature at Euro 2020 but his possible absence is still a blow to Southgate’s defensive options
With the last-16 starting on Saturday and ending next Tuesday, Mount and Chilwell are also in danger of missing the start of the knockout-phase, should they have to self-isolate for 10 days.
Gilmour’s positive test is the second to hit the Scotland camp since the squad met up earlier this month.
Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck sat out both of the Scots’ warm-up fixtures against Holland and Luxembourg after contracting the virus.
Meanwhile, fans took to Twitter to react to the news that England’s players would not receive extra testing despite being on the same pitch as Gilmour on Friday night.
Twitter user Stuart Graham said: ‘So I’m really confused, if a pupil in my daughters class “bubble” tests positive for Covid then the whole class will isolate, yet Billy Gilmour tests positive yet Scottish team don’t have to self-isolate.’
Another tweeted: ‘I’m honestly baffled with this Covid-19 nonsense, how can they say no one is considered as a close contact to Billy Gilmour when all the players shared the same dressing room etc – totally f***ed up.’
And a third added: ‘So Billy Gilmour has to isolate but the entire team, whom he has been in very close contact with, don’t. Yeah, right, that makes perfect sense. If a kid in class tests positive the whole class are sent home. Get an effin grip. It’s all utter nonsense.’
