Gareth Southgate was reported to have tested positive for coronavirus and was suffering from symptoms of the virus last month, but did not tell his players as he didn’t want to cause a fuss, The Sun reports.
According to the report, Gareth Southgate who is 50-year-old, was forced into self-isolation for 10 days after the positive test and eventually produced a negative test result.
The Sun reports that the positive test came in around 25 Ocotber, allowing to isolate at home in Yorkshire before linking up with his England squad for the current international break. The isolation only kept Gareth Southgate from attending some Premier League matches at the end of October and start of November.
England got back to winning ways under Southgate on Friday as they downed the Republic of Ireland 3-0 in a Wembley friendly. They are back in Nations League action away at Belgium on Sunday before facing Iceland Wednesday, with the Three Lions likely needing to win both games to have a chance of progressing to the semi-finals.
Southgate knows Belgium will be a tough task on Sunday, but believes in his side, having beaten the Red Devils just last month. Asked how tall an order the Belgians will be, he said: ‘Well, I think we know – they’ve lost two games in 28, so they’re a fantastic team and they’ve proven that over a long period of time. ‘But our aim is to be the best team in the world and we’ve got to hunt these teams down.
‘We were able to do it at Wembley. I think we saw what a top side they are there, so we know that we had to be at our very best with and without the ball to get that result.
‘That will be the same tomorrow but we’re not fearful. We’ve got to go into the game with a very positive mindset. ‘We know that we can hurt teams, we’ve got players who can score goals, and we know we’ve conceded two in our last nine games so we’re an improving team. ‘We’re a team that are going to get better over the next few years.
‘You know, when you look at the age of youngsters like Declan (Rice) and the team that was on the pitch the other night (against the Republic of Ireland) – 19-year-olds, 17-year-olds, several 20, 21-year-olds. ‘The future is so exciting. What we’ve got to do is make sure we’re getting results and progressing now as well.’