England manager Gareth Southgate kept coronavirus battle secret from players

England manager Gareth Southgate is reported to have contracted COVID-19 last month in a secret battle with the illness.

The 50-year-old didn’t tell anyone about his battle with coronavirus, with even England players supposedly none the wiser about him picking up the bug last month, according to the Sun.

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Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to have affected Southgate in a big way, with the Sun reporting that the Three Lions boss is in good shape for a man his age.

Despite the seriousness of the pandemic, it is perhaps not too surprising that Southgate didn’t get a serious case of COVID-19, which tends to mainly target the elderly and those with other underlying health conditions.

No one can be considered entirely immune from it, however, so it’s always a relief to hear when our footballing heroes get through it without any complications.

Southgate is the latest in a growing list of names in the footballing world who’ve recently had coronavirus, but many others have come to light quicker than this as Southgate chose to keep it private.