TOKYO: Japanese professional soccer player Mu Kanazaki, a member of Nagoya Grampus, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the team said Tuesday.

The 31-year-old forward at the team in the J1 top division of the Japan Professional Football League, or J.League, complained of fatigue, fever and headache after joining a group practice session last Friday, Koki Konishi, president of the operator of the team, said in an online press conference.

Kanazaki took a polymerase chain reaction test at a hospital in the central Japan prefecture of Aichi, where Nagoya Grampus is based, on Monday, and tested positive for the virus on Tuesday, according to Konishi.

He is now hospitalized in Aichi to recover his health although his fever has gone down.

Kanazaki did not take part in Nagoya Grampus' whole-team practice that was resumed on Monday, and no other players or staff members of the team have been confirmed with the virus. Nagoya Grampus has decided to suspend practices by all members for the time being, with the players instructed to wait at home.

The team will work to identify people who had close contact with Kanazaki under the guidance from a local public health center while disinfecting practice and other facilities.

Kanazaki drove to a relative's house in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan, in mid-May.

Kanazaki, who has played for Japan's national soccer team, was transferred to Nagoya Grampus from J1 club Sagan Tosu, based in the city of Tosu, Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in March for a limited period.

The J1 division, which has been in hiatus since late February due to the novel coronavirus epidemic, is slated to resume official matches on July 4.

JIJI Press