Cristiano Ronaldo will be forced to sit out Juventus’ crucial Barcelona match-up after failing his COVID-19 test, as per reports in Spain.
The Portuguese forward tested positive for COVID-19 during the international break and has tested positive again.
According to the UEFA protocol, a player must test negative one week before a match and Ronaldo hasn’t been able to do so.
Ronaldo left the Portugal squad after his positive result was announced on October 13 in order to avoid a quarantine that would have definitely ruled him out of this rematch with Lionel Messi, but he won’t be able to play anyway because of this latest test result.
He’ll have to wait, then, for the Matchday 6 game against Barcelona for the chance to take on Messi once again, a match which might take place with the two giants of Group G already qualified.
Ronaldo and Messi have never met in the Champions League group stages before, although they have met on three separate seasons in the knockout rounds.
In Serie A, Juventus take on Genoa this Sunday and Ronaldo will also be unavailable for that fixture.
