What’s Next For Serie A After Juventus Star Paulo Dybala Recovers From Coronavirus

Italian soccer team Juventus have confirmed on Wednesday that Paulo Dybala has recovered from COVID-19.

The Argentinian striker was one of the first players tested positive for coronavirus on March 21, alongside Juventus teammates Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi.

A statement on the clubs’ official website reads: 

“Paulo Dybala performed, as per protocol, a double-check with diagnostic tests (swabs) for COVID- 19, which came back with negative results. The player has, therefore, recovered and will no longer be subjected to the home isolation regime”.

Speaking on his Instagram account on Monday, the Argentine international admitted he was missing soccer more than he thought he would.

“To tell you the truth, I never thought I was going to miss playing and training that much,” Dybala confessed.

The bianconeri are planning to resume individual training and have already called back to Turin all the international players who decided to spend their quarantine in their countries.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt and polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny made their way back to Italy already last week, while Danilo, Alex Sandro, and Douglas Costa are expected form Brazil this week. 

Italian soccer clubs are gearing up to resume Serie A 2019-20 season after two months of COVID-19 shut-down.

According to the Italian sports newspaper ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’, Thursday will be a decisive day for the future of Italian soccer.

The FIGC – the Italian soccer federation – and the Government will discuss a new draft of the medical protocol that aims at restarting the season. 

If the Government gives the green light, Serie A clubs hope to start training in groups from May 18 and resuming fixtures at the beginning of June.

However, Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora warned that if the protocol is not agreed by the end of this week, he may well declare the 2019-20 season over, Italian news agency ANSA reports.

The first version of the medical guidelines was already once rejected by the Government’s scientific committee for being ‘insufficient’.

To further complicate the matter, Serie A club Torino announced on Wednesday that a player has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed in quarantine, without showing any symptoms.

The Turin-based club did not disclose the name of the player in an attempt to protect his privacy.

In a positive sign that the states may soon inch toward easing current restrictions on football, on Wednesday German Bundesliga became the first major European soccer competition to receive the all-clear from the government to resume soccer.

It remains to be seen if Italy will follow suit or it will scrap the remainder of the soccer season.