Inter Miami defender reveals he was player who tested positive for COVID-19 in June
Defender Christian Makoun revealed on Instagram Tuesday afternoon that he is the Inter Miami player who tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-June.
He has since tested negative twice, is feeling better and was cleared to travel with the team to the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, where he was with his teammates in the bubble. But Makoun did not play in any of the three games.
When Inter Miami announced one of its players had tested positive, the club did not name the player and said only that he was asymptomatic.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 some weeks ago,” Makoun wrote on Instagram. “I am already cleared of it but unfortunately it left some residuals. I feel good knowing that if God allowed it, it is to change something in me and prepare me for my purpose. I want to return to the field soon with my teammates, of whom I am very proud. Good things await us, we just have to be strong and not lose the faith.”
Makoun is the only Inter Miami player who tested positive since training resumed in early June. Players were tested every other day. A total of 4,571 COVID-19 tests were administered to players, coaches and staff in the MLS Orlando bubble between July 12-19 and there were zero new positives.
Makoun, 20, was captain of Venezuela’s U-20 national team that reached the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup final, where the Vinotintos lost 1-0 to England. European scouts took note, and Makoun was loaned to Italian giant Juventus, where he spent 2018-19 with its U-23 team.
He signed with Inter Miami in August 2019, the third player signed by the club, and played 11 minutes off the bench in the season opener at Los Angeles FC.
Inter Miami lost all three games in the MLS is Back Tournament and returned home on Monday. The team will have a few days off and resume training at its Fort Lauderdale practice facility in preparation for the planned resumption of the season at home stadiums after the tournament ends Aug. 11.
There is no set date for those games, but they will be played without fans and the playoffs could be extended into December.
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:24 PM.