Liverpool's Thiago Alcantara tests positive for coronavirus

Club reveal midfielder is currently in self-isolation

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool's new signing Thiago Alcantara at Anfield. Getty

Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for coronavirus.

The 29-year-old, who joined from Bayern Munich this month, is currently in self-isolation.

A Liverpool statement read: "Thiago Alcantara has tested positive for Covid-19 and is currently self-isolating according to the necessary guidelines.

"The club has, and will continue to follow, all protocols relating to Covid-19 and Thiago will remain in self-isolation for the required period of time."

Thiago made his debut for the Reds in their 2-0 Premier League win at Chelsea. However, he missed Monday's 3-1 victory against Arsenal. Manager Jurgen Klopp said he was not fit enough.

"After the international break, he will be fine," the German manager told Sky Sports.

"For sure and that's the situation at the moment, he isn't fit enough to be available tonight and that's it."

Thiago signed for a reported £20million ($25m), rising to £25m, after seven years at Bayern, where he won seven league titles.

His final game for the Germans was their 1-0 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain in August.

He is now set to miss Thursday's League Cup visit of Arsenal and Sunday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa but could be available for the Merseyside derby at Everton on October 17.

________________

Liverpool v Arsenal ratings

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS: Alisson. 9 – No clean sheet for the Brazilian on this occasion, but a series of mammoth interventions – including two one-on-ones against Alexandre Lacazette – after the interval were pivotal in winning his side the game. EPA

Trent Alexander-Arnold. 8 – Picked up yet another assist when he found Robertson at the back post, and he came close to scoring himself when his deflected shot from range struck the bar. Had the better of Aubameyang and Maitland-Niles too, but picked up a booking for a naughty challenge on the latter. PA

Joe Gomez. 7 - A good performance for the most part; he did well to turn away a dangerous cross from Willian, but he did allow Lacazette a golden opportunity when the France striker snuck in behind. Excellent pace and smart distribution. AFP

Virgil van Dijk. 6 - Liverpool’s Mr Reliable pressed high as the Reds imposed their authority on the game and he twice found himself with a sight of goal, but he failed to cut out Maitland-Niles’ dangerous cross which assisted the opening goal. Reuters

Andrew Robertson. 7 – He bounced back superbly to atone for an early error and put himself on the scoresheet within nine minutes of his side falling behind. Gave the Reds everything in another breathless display on the left. AP

Naby Keita. 7 – His constant hustling and pressing on the right kept the Gunners on their toes in an impressive display. Worked hard to win the ball back and always played the simple ball to keep the Reds moving. AP

Fabinho. 7 – Tidied up well in the heart of midfield in the absence of Jordan Henderson. The importance of his battling display cannot be understated and he twice moved swiftly to nullify Arsenal attacks on the counter. AP

Georginio Wijnaldum. 6 - Not his busiest performance, but he produced another composed display and probably would have grabbed himself an assist if Mohamed Salah had been a little less greedy. Reuters

Mohamed Salah. 7 - A mixed evening. His parried strike allowed Mane to open the scoring and he later picked out Jota with an excellent threaded pass, but his selfishness took a certain goalscoring opportunity away from the latter. EPA

Roberto Firmino. 6 – No goals in a relatively quiet display, but the Liverpool No 9’s selfless attitude once again played a big part in the build-up to the equalising goal. AP

Sadio Mane 9 - Completely unplayable for large spells. It was a case of right place, right time to level the scores at 1-1, but that always seems to be the case for world-class forwards. He led the press from the front in an excellent display that was bursting with energy. Reuters

SUBS: James Milner (Keita, 79’). N/A - His composure and experience were vital as Liverpool took control in the dying embers of the contest. Getty Images

Diogo Jota (Mane, 79’). N/A - Came on for his Liverpool debut and quickly found himself in the thick of the action. He should have done better than to hit the side-netting when clean through on goal, but he sealed the points with a super strike from the edge of the box. EPA

Takumi Minamino (Firmino, 90+1’). N/A - Introduced in stoppage time, although not convinced he had time to even touch the ball. EPA

ARSENAL RATINGS: Bernd Leno. 6 – Could do very little to stop any of Liverpool’s goals and was left exposed for Robertson’s equaliser. Aside from that, a solid outing for the German. EPA

Hector Bellerin. 5 – Should have done much better with two Liverpool goals and was caught out of position. Had a tough evening against Mane. AP

Rob Holding. 6 – Looked more comfortable in a defensive three, though he did leave Bellerin isolated a few too many times. His distribution was poor and invited pressure on the Gunners’ defence. PA

David Luiz. 6 – A mixed display. Distribution errors were generally amended for by solid heading and some impressive interceptions. AP

Kieran Tierney. 5 – The Scot had a tricky game trying to marshal Salah’s movement inside, and though he offered Arsenal an option when playing out from the back, he often found himself under pressure quickly. He was caught flat-footed on a number of occasions and was dragged out of position by some intelligent Liverpool movement. AP

Ainsley Maitland-Niles. 7 – A reliable option for the Gunners going forward, but also offered a solid defensive performance. Played a vital role in Lacazette’s opener. Reuters

Mohamed Elneny. 6 – The Egyptian impressed with incisive passing and good pressing, though his influence faded as Liverpool took control of the game. AP

Granit Xhaka. 6 – Added energy and commitment, especially defensively. He made good interceptions between the lines, but was taken off in the second half as he dropped deeper. Reuters

Willian. 6 – The former Chelsea man worked hard when tracking back and made some decent interventions, though the fact that he was forced to play in a deeper role meant that he made few contributions going forward. AFP

Alexandre Lacazette. 7 – Took his goal well, but two dreadful finishes in the second half prevented Arsenal from getting a point. AFP

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 6 – Cut a bit of an isolated figure out on the left. His crossing was consistently wayward. EPA

SUBS: Dani Ceballos 6 (Xhaka, 60’) – Came on with half an hour to play and looked to drive Arsenal forward. Picked up a yellow card for a foul on Keita. PA

Nicolas Pepe 5. (Willian, 68’) – Barely touched the ball, with Liverpool firmly on top late on. PA

Eddie Nketiah. N/A (Lacazette, 73’) – The youngster never looked like adding to his goal tally. AFP