Nelson Semedo was not involved in training in Barcelona on Thursday, with the leaders of the Spanish League explaining that he was “as per La Liga ‘s protocol.”
Barca revealed the omission of the right-back from the session on Twitter just two days before their first fixture back after the coronavirus suspended the season, away at Real Mallorca.
The Blaugrana are two points ahead of the league’s resumption on Thursday amid the Covid-19 pandemic from rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
After pictures seemingly showing the defender breaching social distancing measures emerged by attending a birthday party, Semedo was kept out of training.
Instead, the right-back had to train himself after allegedly going to the party with 19 others.
Barcelona is still in phase 2 of Spain’s de-escalation process, which only allows for groups of up to 15 people to gather. The party guests also didn’t wear face masks or observe the social distance.
Barcelona tweeted a photo from the team session, captioning: “Training session with first-team players open. Nelson Semedo did not practice as per La Liga protocol.”Semedo will be tested for coronavirus today, according to local station Catalunya Radio, and will be allowed back into team training tomorrow if it returns negative, however it puts its position against Mallorca in jeopardy for the game.
The 26-year-old, who joined Barca from Benfica for £ 32 million in 2017, was the first choice the team made right back whenever it fits this season, although a muscle injury restricted him to only 21 appearances in La Liga during the 2019-20 season before coronavirus forced him to postpone it.
While Semedo may be absent, Lionel Messi will certainly be able to play after shaking off a minor injury to the muscle.
