Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gündogan has detailed his battle with Coronavirus and urged people to take it seriously.
The German international was confirmed as testing positive for the virus on September 21st, with him subsequently missing the start of the new Premier League season.
He has been observing the 10-day period of self-isolation in accordance with the Premier League and UK government protocols currently in place.
There has been little word on his situation or status from the club, but speaking to BILD, Gündogan revealed he suffered some of the symptoms people have been warned about.
“In the meantime, it had hit me hard,” the Manchester City star said.
“I had aching limbs at first. Then I was totally exhausted, and my sense of taste was completely gone. I really didn’t feel well at all, and for a while, I was just lying in bed.
“Only after several days did I gradually get better. To be honest, I can’t remember when I was last hit by an infection.
“I’m fine so far, I’m healthy again, and I’m training with the team in Manchester again after my test results were finally negative again and I was able to end my quarantine phase.”
Gündogan has also urged the public to take the situation seriously, with infections rising across the world once again.
Several countries, including the United Kingdom, are now thought to be heading towards the widely predicted and feared second wave of the pandemic.
The UK, in particular, has seen a worrying rise in positive tests over the past few weeks, with several areas of the country, including Manchester, already under local lockdown in an attempt to stem the tide.
And the Manchester City man has urged the public to stick to the rules in place to help bring things back under control.
“As a competitive athlete, of course, I don’t belong to the risk group, so from that point of view I can still consider myself very lucky,” he added.
“Accordingly, my experience with the virus cannot be compared to the experiences of those affected who have tragically lost family or friends.
“Nevertheless, as a person affected and in my function as a person, I would like to warn the public once again about the current situation and development.
“Everyone has to stick to the rules more: keep their distance and above all wear a mask.
“There are millions of people who are at risk. Everyone must therefore live up to their responsibility, even if they are not in great danger themselves.”
