Catalan radio station RAC1 reported on Tuesday that five players from FC Barcelona and two members of the coaching staff tested positive for the COVID-19 in tests carried out by the Spanish football league (LaLiga) at the start of May.

The radio station, which has close links to the club, did not name any of the players or staff who could have been infected, but highlights that they have all overcome the virus and generated antibodies, reports Xinhua news agency.

The news comes the day after Spain’s football clubs were finally allowed to begin training with their full squads as they put the finishing touches to return to action next week as the Liga Santander and Liga SmartBank (first and second divisions) come back after a break of over 3 months due to COVID-19.

Barcelona are slated to resume their bid to defend the Spanish title on June 13 away to Real Mallorca as LaLiga confirmed dates for the first two rounds of fixtures after the restart following a break of more than two months due to the health crisis.

The season is set to return to action on June 11 with a local derby between Sevilla and Real Betis and there will be fixtures for the following seven days, with Barcelona hosting Leganes on June 16 and Real Madrid playing at home to Valencia on June 18.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill and the sporting arena is no exception. Most of the high profile tournaments including the Tokyo Olympics 2020 stand postponed.

Even the biggest cricketing spectacle on the planet, the Indian Premier League (IPL), stands suspended indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, Bundesliga became the first high-profile sporting event to resume after a 65 day period with almost no sporting activity.

The move to restart sporting leagues come after governments are beginning to realise that the coronavirus is here to stay for quite some time and sports among other businesses will need to find a way to co-exist with it.

The virus has already infected more than 6 million people around the world while claiming over 3.6 lakh lives. There is still no sure shot treatment of the disease and social-distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of basic hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons of protecting oneself from contracting the infection.

(With inputs from IANS)