Rangers defender Borna Barisic has been told that he will not have to self-isolate, despite Croatia team mate Domagoj Vida testing positive for Covid-19.
Besiktas defender Vida was withdrawn at half-time during Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Turkey and immediately isolated from the rest of the group after the Turkish medical authorities confirmed the positive result.
But Rangers left-back Barisic, who was an unused substitute for the friendly game in Istanbul, and the rest of the Croatia officials and players were given the all-clear to travel to Sweden for Saturday’s UEFA Nations League clash.
The Swedish authorities have, however, ordered the Croatians to undergo an additional test on Friday ahead of the clash.
News that Barisic is unaffected by Vida’s positive result will come as a boost to Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, with the stopper having started 18 of the Ibrox club’s 20 competitive matches so far this term.
A Croatian FA spokesperson said: “During the September gathering, fitness trainer Luka Milanovi? tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and Croatian epidemiologists estimated that, due to compliance with all measures, self-isolation of other staff members or players was not necessary.
“The same decision was made by Turkish epidemiologists in the case of Domagoj Vida.
“The Croatian national football team has arrived in Stockholm, where it will play a Nations League match against Sweden on November 14.
“The Croatian national team respects all the provisions of UEFA’s Return to Play protocol, which does not provide for the isolation of the entire team due to one or more positive cases.
“At the same time, all provisions of the local authorities (in this case, first Turkish, then Swedish), as well as the decisions of local epidemiologists, are respected.”
