The second positive COVID-19 case within the Spanish national team, just five days before the Euro opener against Sweden – who are also hampered by the virus – further complicates the situation for Luis Enrique.
After Sergio Busquets‘ positive test on Sunday, now Diego Llorente has been forced into isolation after a positive result of his own.
Will Llorente and Busquets feature at the tournament?
This is not yet clear. The idea with captain Sergio Busquets was to hold off for as long as possible before making a decision.
Given Diego Llorente is not as key in Luis Enrique‘s plans the situation with him may be different, although everything is currently up in the air.
When is the deadline?
Saturday at 21:00 CEST, 48 hours before the first game against Sweden, is the deadline for making any changes in the squad. Spain must have confirmed their squad to UEFA by then.
Who could replace them in the squad?
Deciphering what is going through Luis Enrique‘s head at the moment is a very complicated task. There is no guarantee that no more positive cases will occur between now and the start of the tournament.
The most natural option to replace Busquets would be Martin Zubimendi, who once again proved himself against Lithuania, like he did in the U21 European Championship.
Carlos Soler, Pablo Fornals and Brais Mendez have also been reported as potential options.
For Llorente, the most obvious choice would be to replace him with the experienced Raul Albiol.
However, if Luis Enrique‘s first list was short in any position, it was at right-back as the coach had no natural player in this position. Llorente could play there, as could Marcos Llorente and Cesar Azpilicueta, but it is unlikely that Albiol still has the versatility to be able to play at right-back.
Who is on the standby list?
Brais, Fornals, Soler, Albiol and Rodrigo were joined by Kepa Arrizabalaga in the parallel squad. These players will also be joined by 11 of the U21 payers who played against Lithuania in Leganes.
What if there are more positive cases?
The protocol states that one more positive would mean the existence of an outbreak within the national team, which would endanger the trip to Seville to play Sweden on Monday.
The squad continue to be tested daily, the results being made clear by the evening.
Could Spain vs Sweden be suspended?
As long as there are 13 players available, including a goalkeeper, then the game can go ahead. Only an uncontrolled outbreak would make travel difficult and put the game in jeopardy.
Sweden travel to Spain on Saturday. Both teams would also have the possibility of replacing infected players with others, in order to meet the minimum requirement.
Will national team players be vaccinated?
It is unclear at this stage, but the Spanish Interterritorial Health Council will meet this Wednesday.
“I hope we will know something for sure, but the decision is in the hands of Health,” said the Secretary of State for Sports, Jose Manuel Franco, on Tuesday night.
