Mainz 05 hit by Covid-19 outbreak three days before Borussia Dortmund clash

Mainz 05 have announced that 19 members of their first-team set-up have tested positive for Covid-19 just three days before their game against Borussia Dortmund.

Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund are due to meet in the Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon. But the 05ers announced on Thursday that a total of 19 members of their first-team set-up have returned positive Covid-19 tests.

Mainz 05 players, coaches and support staff are among those who have tested positive for Covid-19. The club have not yet revealed how many players have returned positive tests. The team training session scheduled for Thursday afternoon was canceled, and the players who tested negative trained individually. The entire Mainz 05 first-team squad is fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Mainz 05 added in their statement that they are in close contact with the local health authorities and the DFL to determine next steps. At the moment, it remains to be seen if this will have any impact on Sunday’s game between Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund head of players department Sebastian Kehl told Kicker on Thursday afternoon that they are expecting Sunday’s game to go ahead as things stand. He added that the Black and Yellows are preparing for the game as they normally would.

"“We have been informed about the Covid-19 situation at FSV Mainz 05 by the DFL and the club. We will continue to prepare professionally for the match. As things stand, we expect the game to go ahead this Sunday.”"

According to DFL regulations, a club can only request for the postponement of a Bundesliga game if they have less than 16 players available.

Mainz 05 are currently ninth in the Bundesliga standings with ten games to go in the season. While Borussia Dortmund are second, eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.