Castilla’s Covid Concerns

This weekend a report that several Real Madrid Castilla players and staff members had tested positive for COVID-19 sent the team into meltdown. Since then, said individuals are continuing to self-isolate in order to recover, and the scheduled Segunda B fixture against Ray Majadahonda has officially been cancelled. Now, attention has naturally turned towards the senior team and how this could potentially affect them moving forward into an important week, with rumours already spreading about potential cases inside the first team circle.

Castilla and the first team both train within the Real Madrid training complex at Valdebebas, and although this facility is particularly spacious, it is not uncommon for players from both contingents to cross paths. Whilst many of the Castilla based individuals involved remain anonymous, it has been confirmed that defender Sergio Santos is one of the players to have contracted the virus. What will be most concerning for the first team, is the fact that Santos was heavily involved in first team training during the build up to the Champions League game against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany just last week. It is currently unknown exactly when and where he contracted the virus.

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Real Madrid’s senior players all passed their respective COVID tests prior to the Huesca league game on the weekend, and the fact that Santos is far from alone on the Castilla positive list is highly suggestive that he was not exposed to the virus whilst on first team duty. Either way, concerns have been understandably raised, and extra safety precautions will be introduced ahead of the next round of tests for the Inter Milan fixture. For Castilla, it is expected that the team will attempt to train and complete proposed fixtures as normal without the affected individuals, and that these players will become available for selection again once they have recovered.