Lille player Zeki Celik tests positive for coronavirus

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Lille's Turkish right back Zeki Celik tested positive for the coronavirus, the French football club's manager said on Friday.

"Celik did not come back [to France]. He is still in isolation in his home in Turkey because he is a victim of COVID," Christophe Galtier said in a pre-match news conference.

Second-place Lille will play a critical league match against French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Saturday in Paris. Both clubs have 63 points in 30 matches.

Celik, 24, played in the Turkish national team's 2022 FIFA World Cup European qualifiers against the Netherlands on March 24 that his native country won 4-2 in Istanbul.

But he did not travel to Spain's Malaga for the Turkey-Norway match on March 27 which Turkey won 3-0.

Celik also missed the Latvia game on March 30 in Istanbul, which ended 3-3.

He was out of the Turkish squad before the Norway clash but no official statement was made about his omission.