COVID outbreak at French club Troyes forces postponement

PARIS (AP) — The French league game between Troyes and first-division rival Montpellier was postponed Friday after 13 players at Troyes tested positive for COVID-19.

It's the second of this weekend's slate of games to be called off because of coronavirus outbreaks as Ligue 1 returns from its winter break.

Saturday’s game between defending champion Lille and Lorient was postponed after a dozen Lorient players tested positive over the past week. Two members of Lorient's technical staff also tested positive.

Montpellier had been scheduled to host Troyes on Sunday. New dates for the games have not been set.

On Thursday, Paris Saint-Germain said Angel Di Maria and Julian Draxler had tested positive ahead of its game at Lyon on Sunday. Earlier in the week, PSG announced goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma had also tested positive.

GERMANY

As the Bundesliga returns to action Friday following the winter break, 15 of 18 teams have recently reported virus cases after players returned from vacation.

Previously unaffected Freiburg said Friday three people at the club had tested positive but didn't name them. Freiburg is a surprise contender for Champions League qualification in third place and hosts Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.

Gerardo Seoane, coach of fourth-place Bayer Leverkusen, said midfielder Nadiem Amiri tested positive ahead of Saturday's game against Union Berlin, adding to the strain on a squad already affected by injuries.

Seoane said Amiri was fully vaccinated, had a booster jab and had previously been infected with the coronavirus. The fact he has still tested positive “shows what an enormous challenge the situation is for us and for society,” Seoane said.

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