Leeds United defender Robin Koch tests positive for COVID-19
Leeds United defender Robin Koch will not travel with the Germany team ahead of their upcoming fixtures after returning a positive rapid antigen test.
The official Twitter account for the German national team confirmed the news on Monday evening.
He becomes the second Leeds player to test positive in a matter of days after Brazilian international Raphinha missed the trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers with COVID-19.
Koch replaced the injured Diego Llorente in the 40th minute of United’s dramatic 3-2 victory at Molineux.
Germany are set to face Israel in a friendly at the Rhein-Neckar Arena on Saturday night before the team travels to Amsterdam to take on The Netherlands on Tuesday evening.
With several days until Germany’s first fixture, it is currently unclear whether Koch will be able to re-join the squad if he is able to provide a negative test.
Good timing.
From a Leeds perspective, the Premier League rules around COVID-19 dictate that players must isolate for five days and then return two negative tests before being cleared to play.
Leeds face Southampton in another crucial game as they seek to distance themselves from the relegation zone on the 2nd of April.
Jesse Marsch’s side currently sits 16th in the Premier League table, seven points clear of the drop zone, but Leeds have played more games than every team below them.
Koch has made eight appearances for his country, the most recent of which came in a friendly against Denmark back in June 2021.
After a frustrating year packed with injuries, the defender will have been looking forward to pulling on his national jersey once again, but this time, it just wasn’t meant to be.
In other Leeds United news, Andrea Radrizzani has broken his silence on Twitter sharing when he will leave the club