Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has revealed that he has tested positive for coronavirus, and had already been self-isolating following close contact with another person who had Covid-19.
Aguero, who has struggled with injuries this season, did not feature in City's Premier League win over Aston Villa on Wednesday night and has not featured for the team since January 3, when he made a four-minute cameo in the 3-1 victory against Chelsea.
He wrote on Twitter: "After a close contact, I've been self-isolating and the latest test I took was positive for Covid-19. I had some symptoms and I'm following doctor's orders for recovery. Take care, everyone!"
Manchester City have been one of the worst-affected clubs in the Premier League in terms of the number of positive coronavirus tests, with Aguero now making it a total of nine players having tested positive for Covid-19.
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That includes first-team stars such as Eric Garcia, Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker, who all missed City's win over Chelsea. Goalkeeper Scott Carson and 18-year-old midfielder Cole Palmer then tested positive on January 6.
The latest news will come as a concern to head coach Guardiola, who has barely been able to use his talismanic striker through the majority of the 2020-21 Premier League season.
Aguero has featured in only nine games this season for City, playing just 260 minutes in total. He has not completed a full match for his club in 2020-21, and has scored just twice, both in the Champions League group stages.
Despite their struggles with coronavirus, City have been in good form recently, winning their last six Premier League matches in a row to move up to second in the table, two points behind leaders Manchester United.
Their next game is on Saturday evening in the FA Cup fourth round, away to fourth-tier side Cheltenham Town. There is no indication of the game being in jeopardy, as Aguero says he was in self-isolation before finding out he was positive and so is unlikely to have passed the virus on to any of his team mates or the Manchester City coaching staff.