England have just officially announced that Chelsea duo Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell will self-isolate until next Monday (28 June) in a decision made after consultation with Public Health England.
It’s stated that the pair were were ‘confirmed’ as ‘close contacts’ of Billy Gilmour, they hugged their Blues pal after England drew against Scotland on Friday, with Gilmour then testing positive for Covid-19.
The statement adds that Mount and Chilwell will isolate and ‘train individually’ in ‘private areas’ of St. George’s Park. The rest of the squad will return to England’s base after the match with Czech Republic.
England write that the entire squad and team of staff were tested on Monday, with all coming back negative, something that will annoy some as Mount and Chilwell are forced to isolate.
We can confirm that @BenChilwell and @masonmount_10 must isolate up to and including Monday 28 June. This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England.
— England (@England) June 22, 2021
Mount started and played the entire 90 minutes of the Three Lions’ first two Euros encounters, while Chilwell has been unused so far and that will remain the case for at least another week now.
As well as the final Group Stage clash, the fact the recent Champions League winners will still need to isolate next Monday means that they may well miss England’s first match of the knockouts.
Should Gareth Southgate’s men finish as runners up, where they sit currently, they will face the second-placed team in Group E, which consists of Spain, Slovakia, Sweden and Poland.
If England are victorious against the Czech they’ll face the most difficult challenge in contesting either whoever finishes second in Group F of France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary. As that tie is scheduled for Tuesday, Mount and Chilwell would be available again, presuming they’re match fit.
Depending on how the rest of the Groups pan out, the due could well miss the Round of 16 should England advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Some fans are absolutely furious with the decision and are demanding that the likes of Scotland boss Steve Clarke and the entire Tartan team observe a period of isolation, having obviously been in closer contact with Gilmour for a seemingly longer period time.