Manchester City midfielder De Bruyne tests positive for COVID-19

LONDON - Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne will miss this weekend's Premier League match due to a positive test result for COVID-19, revealed the club on Friday.

The reigning Premier League champions are going to host Everton on Sunday. But head coach Pep Guardiola was told on Wednesday that the Belgian was tested positive for COVID-19 after his return from international duty.

"He is positive. He has to recover well and try and be healthy. The human being is more important than anything else," said Guardiola on Friday's press conference. "When one person is positive we have to be careful because people are still dying."

Guardiola confirmed that De Bruyne has been vaccinated, "so now he is more protected. Hopefully the symptoms will be minor".

Later on Friday, Newcastle United revealed that their newly-appointed head coach Eddie Howe will be absent from his first match in charge of the Magpies after testing positive for COVID-19 during a routine test on that day.

Assistant head coaches Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones will lead the team to play against Brentford at home on Saturday.