Chelsea among clubs to benefit from rapid COVID testing after the international break

Chelsea among clubs set to benefit from soon to be implemented rapid coronavirus testing

According to the Athletic, Chelsea will be among the clubs set to benefit from the new rapid coronavirus tests being rolled out after the international break.

The Premier League is set to return this weekend after a two-week break. While club football may have taken a backseat, players were busy taking part in international fixtures.

With players travelling all across the world, there have been fears of them coming in contact with the virus. The fears are not totally unfounded. After all, former Chelsea star, Mohamed Salah tested positive while the Brazilian national team has also had a similar issue.

Such an outbreak can see clubs uncertain of their options until the player is deemed fine to take the pitch again. With the current tests taking upto 24 hours, a new rapid testing technique is set to be rolled out that will cut waiting times significantly.

The tests that will be made available this week will drastically cut short the waiting period for results. It will allow players to begin training shortly after being checked should their result come back as negative.

Players from a number of clubs including Chelsea could feature for their respective nations as late as Wednesday evening. With them set to take the field for the Blues three days later, the new testing technique will ensure Frank Lampard has a quick understanding of the players at his disposal.

Players such as Jorginho are amongst those who could benefit from the test. The last statement from the Premier League on November 9 declared that 1,646 players and Club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, four came out positive.

A number of clubs are believed to have started trialling the system. However, all 20 top-flight clubs would need to agree on its introduction before it is made available.

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Kai Havertz recently tested positive for COVID-19. The pandemic is not going away anytime soon. If football is to go ahead, measures must be taken to ensure players are taken care off.