‘All of the Almeria first team players are fine; nobody has any symptoms of coronavirus’
Diego Portugal, coordinator of medical services of UD Almeria, states that all the injured players will be available when training resumes
Diego Portugal, coordinator of the UD Almería medical services, stated that, ’for the time being, the UD Almeria first team players will not be able to train together at the Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium. Next week, all of the footballers will also continue with their individual training at home. They already have the gym equipment provided by a sports centre.
The UD Almería doctor explained ‘our whole squad is fine. All the players are having medical follow-ups, the medical staff are talking to them and none have had any symptoms related to the coronavirus.’ Furthermore, he added, ‘we are still keeping in touch with LaLiga. If anybody in the team had any symptoms, they would send coronavirus tests. So far, it has not been necessary to request them. Obviously, we would if we had any suspicion or data that could be positive, but it is not the case.’
Diego Portugal pointed out that ‘the club’s fitness coaches have provided all the squad members with workout plans that fit their schedule and goals. During these days, some gym equipment from a sports centre is being delivered to their homes, so that training can be more intense.’ On the other hand, he said that ‘we have also set dietary guidelines for them and they have to meet certain objectives regarding body fat percentage, weight and so on.’
It is still unknown when Almería will be allowed to get back to a group training session at the Mediterraneo. Everything points to things remaining the same while the state of emergency declared by the Spanish Government prevails. In fact, the coordinator of medical services stated that ‘we do not have a specific date to return to group training. We are in contact with the players and the coaching staff. We will see what lies ahead. At the moment, I am going to let the head coach, José María Gutiérrez, know that the best thing to do next week is not having group training either.’
Regarding all those players who are either injured or still recovering from injuries, such as Juan Ibiza, Petrovic and Lazo - Coric was already exercising normally before training was cancelled-he mentioned that ‘they are following some specific workout routine; they are doing well. I think that unless we suffer unexpected setbacks, everyone will be eligible to train as usual when we resume training at the collective level.’