Paulo Dybala Is Finally Free of the Coronavirus

The Juventus and Argentina star is finally free of the virus, which has hit Italy quite hard.

After weeks and weeks, Paulo Dybala has finally tested negative for the coronavirus.

The Juventus and Argentina forward was diagnosed with the virus along with his girlfriend on March 22 and had reportedly tested positive on multiple subsequent tests, unable to shake the illness that has impacted over 3.7 million people and killed over a quarter of a million people around the world, according to the most recent statistics.

Italy has been one of the hardest hit countries in Europe, with over 200,000 confirmed cases and over 30,000 confirmed deaths. Restrictions have just begun to ease across the country, which includes Serie A, as clubs have resumed extraordinarily limited training sessions. Team sessions cannot start until May 18 at the earliest, according to comments made by Italy's sports minister.

Dybala was one of at least 15 players in Serie A infected with the virus, but he confirmed his negative test on Wednesday, and he's shown an eagerness to get back to work.

"To tell you the truth, I never thought I was going to miss playing and training that much," Dybala said recently on Instagram Live. "I feel like I need to train, see my teammates and friends and at least touch the ball because training at home isn't the same on my own. 

"It's been too long without training. We don't know exactly when we'll be back. It's not like a holiday, when you know you'll be resting for a certain amount of time. 

"I know my only job is to relax and keep in good shape, but nothing major as opposed to now. It started as being one week, then one more, then one more, so I train here but it's not the same."

Dybala's Juventus teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, just returned to Turin on Monday after spending time locked down with his family in his Portuguese hometown of Madeira. He's in the midst of a 14-day isolation period before he can join any Juventus activities, according to the Associated Press.

Dybala had 13 goals and 12 assists in all competitions at the time of the stoppage on March 9. Juventus, aiming to win its ninth straight Serie A title, leads Lazio by one point atop the table with 12 matchdays remaining.


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Avi Creditor
AVI CREDITOR

Avi Creditor is a senior editor and has covered soccer for more than a decade. He’s also a scrappy left back.