Ronaldo entourage 'spread information about Dybala's positive Covid-19 test to avoid returning to Italy' – reports

Sensational reports emerging from Italy suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo's entourage leaked information to Spanish television regarding a supposed fourth positive test for Juve teammate Paulo Dybala to avoid returning to Italy.

Dybala, along with Juventus teammates Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi, were among the first Serie A players to be confirmed carriers of the novel coronavirus after the Argentine playmaker announced to his nearly 4 million Instagram followers on March 21 that he had contracted the potentially fatal virus. Dybala's girlfriend Oriana Sabatini also confirmed she had contracted the disease. 

However, reports emerged on Spanish television show 'El Chiringuito' in recent days which stated that Dybala has not fully recovered from Covid-19 and that he had tested positive for a FOURTH time - several weeks after his initial diagnosis.

This comes as Italian football chiefs announced that individual training for Serie A teams may resume in public spaces on May 4, although away from club training facilities, with full team training returning two weeks later on May 18, as Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte revealed the initial measures being taken to end the country's weeks-long lockdown. 

Incredibly, a report from Italian publication Corriere Dello Sport now suggests that the leak of Dybala's supposed condition came from someone close to one of his teammates, namely Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward is currently still believed to be in his homeland and is said to be unsure of a return to Italy while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect the country.

As for Dybala, the reasoning for the continued positive tests remains unclear. There have been several reported incidents of people testing positive, then negative, and then positive again, which has led to concerns as to a person's immunity to the virus once they have recovered from it.

However, another line of thinking is that irregular results are down to faulty testing or the test detecting something in a sample which doesn't necessarily mean the virus is present. 

Dybala will likely be required to submit to an antibody test which will determine the amount of antibodies to the virus in his bloodstream, which will give doctors a clearer picture as to the status of his diagnosis.

However, Sabatini further clarified her partner's condition in an interview with Canal 9 in Argentina and denied that he is continuing to test positive. "Paulo is not positive again, he just has to wait [for further testing]," she said.

"He did the latest tests and we haven’t had the results yet, so I don’t know where this news is coming from. Just as we were very open about testing positive, we will announce the negativity when we get it.

"I personally have now tested negative, but we are not 100 percent sure, so want to say something only when we are certain."