Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams tests positive for Covid-19

Athletic Bilbao forward Inaki Williams has taken to social media to announce that he has contracted coronavirus.

The 26-year-old, who is eligible for play for either Spain by birth or Ghana via his parents, confirmed the result after taking a test ahead of the club’s preparations for pre-season.

He admitted he has no symptoms and will undergo the necessary self-isolation measures in a bid to control the spread of the virus.

“Today they confirmed that I have tested positive in the PCR test. I am asymptomatic and I feel fine. It is time to be at home in isolation until I overcome the virus. I really want to join the pre-season,” Williams posted on his Twitter account.

✍🏿⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8AFFYIJyhQ

— IÑAKI WILLIAMS (@Williaaams45) August 12, 2020

Williams played the entire 38 games during the concluded 2019-20 season, scoring six goals and providing two assists. All his strikes came before the league was suspended in March due to the spread of Covid-19 of which Spain was one of the most affected countries in the world at that time.

Spain has the 11th most infections in the world with 326,000 confirmed cases, 28,500 deaths and 150,000 recoveries.

The rate of infections in the Iberian country had slowed down at some point, but a recent resurgence in some places like Catalonia has put the region under partial lockdown.

During the forced lockdown in March, Williams had narrated how he was keeping in touch with family, especially his Ghanaian mother, and keeping in shape with his teammates.

“At home, I am with my girlfriend, I train, I watch series like La Casa de Papel,” he told Cadena SER.

“I honestly expected worse. My mother instead gets bored and makes me a video call, we talk a lot.

“It’s sad to see the city of Bilbao like this, all empty. Athletic has provided us with the tools to keep us in shape, but I can’t wait to get back in.”

Bilbao are the third club in Spain to have a team member test positive for coronavirus in as many days after Atletico Madrid confirmed two cases ahead of their Champions League quarter-final clash with RB Leipzig at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Thursday. Barcelona announced one positive case.

Athletic finished the La Liga season in 11th place with 51 points, five points short of Europa League qualification.

Williams has played 196 times for the Basque club since his debut in 2014, scoring a total of 40 goals and providing 26 assists.