England head coach Sarina Wiegman has tested negative for Covid-19 and will be on the touchline for the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 quarter-final against Spain.
Wiegman tested positive for the virus last week, forcing her to miss England’s final group game on Friday, which they won 5-0 against Northern Ireland.
The 52-year-old has since been forced to work remotely, conducting team meetings via Zoom and watching training from afar, wearing a face mask.
Her place in the dugout for Wednesday’s night quarter-final against Spain was duly a major doubt given the tight turnaround.
Wiegman, however, has now tested negative just hours before the match and will be on the touchline at the Amex.
An FA statement said: “England Head Coach Sarina Wiegman has tested negative for Covid. Wiegman will now return to all elements of her role and will take her place on the bench for tonight’s Quarter Final against Spain at the Brighton & Hove Community Stadium.”
Wiegman has stressed how her absence has not impacted the team too much over the past few days, with her staff planning for such a scenario before the tournament began.
She conducted her media duties on Tuesday lunchtime via Zoom and spoke then about her hope she could be with the team for the match against Spain.
“I’m good, thank you. I’m feeling well. I’m ready to go but I still have to wait,” said Wiegman.
“Yeah of course I’m very hopeful but we’ll see what happens. We know if I can’t be there I’ll be around in another way.
“We had a line so I was in contact all the time. I was watching the game [against Northern Ireland] of course from here so we stayed connected all the time. If necessary, that is what we will do tomorrow again.
“It’s not the worst nightmare just a situation we have to deal with. We thought what could we expect? What could develop? This was one of them. We set everything in place.”
