Euro 2020: Spain squad to receive Covid-19 vaccine following Sergio Busquets' positive test

Spain squad in isolation in response to captain's positive test, with their first game of the tournament just six days away

epa09254178 Spanish Under-21 national soccer team players attend their team's training session at Ciudad del Futbol in Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain, 07 June 2021. The Spanish Under-21 team will face Lithuania in an International Friendly soccer match on 08 June 2021, after Spain's first team captain Sergio Busquets has been tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19 disease and left Spain's training camp on 06 June 2021.  EPA/Rodrigo Jimenez
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The Spain squad will get a Covid-19 vaccine shot on Wednesday, less than a week before their opening Euro 2020 match, after captain Sergio Busquets tested positive, Sports Minister Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes said on Tuesday.

Busquets' positive test has thrown Spain's tournament preparations into chaos with the remaining 23 players going into isolation along with the coaching staff.

An Under-21 side led by their coach Luis de la Fuente will face Lithuania on Tuesday in what was supposed to be the nation's final warm-up game before the Euros.

Spain manager Luis Enrique called up a group of six players to complement the squad. They will train separately in a "parallel bubble" away from the main Euros squad with a view to them being added should the need occur.

So far, all the other players and staff have tested negative.

"We are making an exception because they represent us in a top level competition," Rodriguez Uribes told Cadena Ser radio station, adding that they were already planning to give them the shots before Spain's captain had tested positive.

Unlike other countries which have opened up vaccines to all adults, Spain is gradually working its way through age groups and is now focusing on people aged 50-59, with some regions making a start on 40-49 year olds. More than 23 per cent of Spanish population are already fully vaccinated.

Rodriguez Uribes said which vaccine the players would get has not been decided yet, so it is not clear when they would have immunisation.

Spain are due to play Sweden in their Group E opener on Monday.

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