England's Mount and Chilwell isolating after Gilmour contact

BeSoccer 2 years ago 4.3k |

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Mount and Chilwell will not feature for England against the Czech Republic. AFP

England suffered a Euro 2020 blow on Monday as Chelsea duo Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were forced to self-isolate following contact with Scotland's Billy Gilmour, who has tested positive for the coronavirus.

England's 26-man squad all returned negative Covid-19 results after the news of Gilmour's positive test broke earlier on Monday. But Mount and Chilwell are likely to miss England's Euro 2020 Group D clash with the Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday as a result of their contact with Gilmour.

Chelsea team-mates Mount and Gilmour were on opposing sides in England's 0-0 draw against Scotland on Friday, while their club colleague Chilwell was an unused substitute. The English Football Association are in discussions with health authorities over whether the pair can face the Czechs.

Gilmour has been ruled out of Scotland's match against Croatia in Glasgow on Tuesday. Mount had been due to appear at the pre-match press conference alongside England boss Gareth Southgate, but the Chelsea midfielder was withdrawn from his media duties.

"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," an FA statement said. "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."

England need to beat the Czech Republic to finish top of Group D in their final match of the first stage.