AC Milan announce no first team virus cases

Zlatan Ibrahimovic holds an AC Milan jersey as he acknowledges his fans outside the AC Milan team headquarters, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Jan. 3, 2020. The 38-year-old striker was presented by AC Milan after signing a deal until the end of the season with an option to extend for another year. [Spada/LaPresse via AP]

AC Milan revealed on Saturday that none of their first-team footballers or staff had tested positive for coronavirus, a day after the club's president said that some players were recovering from the disease.

In a statement, the seven-time European champions said that "based on the medical tests carried out so far on both the first team players and staff, there have not been any positive cases of Covid-19".

Milan said that the team would continue the individual training programmes that they and other Serie A clubs had begun this week in the hope they can complete 2019-20 this summer.

"Medical screenings will be completed for all players and staff reporting for training over the coming days," the statement continued.

On Friday, Milan president Paolo Scaroni told local media that some of the club's players were recovering from Covid-19, which has killed over 30,000 people in Italy.

His comments came after Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Torino confirmed positive tests for eight players.

On Thursday, Italy's Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora had said that he was hopeful group training could resume on May 18 but on Saturday said the positive cases "were not a good sign".

Napoli announced on Saturday that their players will be able to begin individual training sessions at the club's facility on Sunday "following the completion of diagnostic tests". 

Sports daily the Corriere Dello Sport quoted Naples' Federico II hospital, which oversaw the testing of Napoli players for Covid-19, as saying that "none of the first team tested positive".

Meanwhile, two-time women's World Cup winner Alex Morgan and husband Servando Carrasco have welcomed a new player to their team, announcing the birth of daughter Charlie Elena Carrasco on Saturday.

Morgan tweeted that the baby was born on Thursday.

"She made us wait longer than expected, but I should have known she would do it her way and her way only. My super moon baby," Morgan wrote.

Morgan, 30, was due to give birth in April and said on ABC's "Good Morning America" earlier in the week that she hoped to give birth within the week.

Morgan, who also won Olympic gold with the US women's team, announced that she was pregnant in October.

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