Serge Gnabry Bayern Munich 2020-21Getty

Bayern Munich winger Gnabry tests positive for Covid-19

Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry has tested positive for Covid-19, the club has confirmed, handing the Champions League holders a blow ahead of their quarter-final reunion with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old was absent from training on Tuesday ahead of Hansi Flick's side's first-leg encounter with Mauricio Pochettino's Ligue 1 giants, leading to reports suggesting that he had been sidelined for one reason or another.

It is not the first time that the former Werder Bremen man has tested affirmative for the coronavirus, having first done so in October last year, only for his case to be reported as a false positive five days later.

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What have Bayern Munich said?

"Serge Gnabry has tested positive for coronavirus," the club confirmed in a brief statement posted to their Twitter account .

"The FC Bayern forward is feeling fine and is now quarantining at home."

Pandemic plays havoc with final rematch

Gnabry is not the first player to be ruled out of Bayern's encounter with PSG this week, as the two sides meet for the first time since the Bundesliga heavyweights defeated their French rivals in last season's Champions League Final.

Alessandro Florenzi has already been ruled out of the visitors' trip to Allianz Arena , as has Marcos Verratti, with both of them returning positive tests.

It comes amid a spike of cases in the wake of the March international break, in which players crossed club bubbles to link up with their country, many of whom played their part in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Winger's absence delivers fresh Bayern blow

Gnabry has been a familar face once again under Flick this season, and his absence would be sorely felt at the best of times within the European champions.

But coupled with Robert Lewandowski's lay-off and the route to defending their Champions League title now looks increasingly fraught with pitfalls.

Gnabry has been Bayern's third top scorer this season, behind the Poland international and Thomas Muller, leaving Flick without one of his key options in front of goal against a PSG side hungry to make up for last season's shortfall.

Throw in a host of other teams that could await them in a prospective semi-final - including heavyweights such as Real Madrid, Liverpool and a seemingly unplayable Manchester City - and the winger's position on the sidelines becomes a potentially worrying stumbling block.

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