Arsenal hit by second coronavirus blow as Kolasinac tests positive

Sead Kolasinac has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss Arsenal’s Premier League clash at Leeds United this weekend.

The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina has confirmed that the Arsenal defender produced a positive test result on Wednesday morning having trained with his national team on Tuesday night.

Kolasinac will not be included in Bosnia’s squad to play Italy on Wednesday and will certainly miss Arsenal’s game at Elland Road on Sunday. He is also a major doubt for next week’s Europa League clash against Molde.

Arsenal are in contact with the 27-year-old and are trying to establish a full of picture of what has gone on, while they are also speaking with the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina to try to find out more.

Kolasinac is the second Arsenal player to test positive for coronavirus during the international break after Mohamed Elneny.

The Egyptian FA announced on Monday that the midfielder had produced a positive result while in Togo ahead of Egypt’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Elneny returned to Cairo after the result and has yet to return to England, with Arsenal still trying to clarify the situation - which has been described by one source as ‘complex’.

The 28-year-old will miss Sunday’s game at Leeds, while new signing Thomas Partey remains a doubt due to the thigh injury he sustained during Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa before the international break.

Partey is understood to be positive about his recovery and is hopeful of making the squad for the trip to Elland Road, but Arsenal will not make a decision until the end of the week.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has previously raised concerns over his players heading off on international duty during the pandemic.

Arteta said: “The bubbles that the Premier League, the clubs and the Government have been able to create to try to keep everybody as safe as possible are working really, really well.

“But we all know that the issue is still there.

“Obviously when everyone has to fly away to very different countries, I think at the moment it’s a little bit of an experience.

“We don’t know what the outcome is. We want to believe that they are going to follow a lot of things that are implemented and working well so fingers crossed we don’t get any bad news.”