Christian Bassogog, who starred in Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph in 2017, became the second confirmed coronavirus case in the Chinese Super League on Friday.
The 24-year-old forward, who plays for Henan Jianye, is asymptomatic but is in hospital in Guangzhou, health authorities in the southern city said.
There is no health threat to the CSL, which started on July 25, because Bassogog has been in quarantine since arriving in China from Cameroon in mid-July.
Former Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini was previously the only confirmed coronavirus case in China’s top football league.
The 32-year-old Belgian spent three weeks in a Chinese hospital before being released in mid-April.
He was not seriously ill and bounced back to score a seven-minute hat-trick of headers in Shandong Luneng’s season-opener on Sunday.
Bassogog, who was named best player at the 2017 Cup of Nations, was tested upon arrival on July 15 and was negative for coronavirus, Guangzhou health authorities said.
However, during quarantine he was retested and twice returned a positive result.
Henan, beaten 4-3 by Jiangsu Suning in their first match of the virus-delayed season, wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo: “The tougher (the situation is) the farther you go!
“Come on Bassogog! We’re waiting for you!”
AFP
