The player, and those who had close contact with him, have all been asked to self-isolate in line with UK Government guidelines, putting the Blues' trip Aston Villa this weekend into some doubt.

Brighton and Hove Albion already postponed its match with Arsenal after the Gunners' boss Mikel Arteta was diagnosed as positive also on Friday (AEDT). That news came just minutes after the Premier League had announced it would run all fixtures as normal this weekend, despite a raft of postponements and cancellations of other major sporting events around the world, including LaLiga, Major League Soccer and the Australia Formula One Grand Prix, to name but a few. The Premier League has called an emergency meeting of the clubs in light of these positive cases, and a postponement looks more likely than not now. Chelsea insisted those who did not have close contact with Hudson-Odoi would return to work in the coming days. "In the meantime, the men’s team building, one of several separate buildings at our training ground, will remain closed," a statement read. "The rest of our training facility, Stamford Bridge and our other facilities are operating as normal."

Hudson-Odoi reportedly displayed symptoms similar to a mild cold on Monday morning UK time, and had not been at the training ground since then as a precaution. "However, his test came in positive this evening [Friday AEDT] and he will undergo a period of self-isolation," the club statement continued. "Despite testing positive for the virus, Callum is doing well and looking forward to returning to the training ground as soon as it is possible.

"We will continue to adhere to Government and public health Guidelines with regard to our facilities and staff and will be discussing next steps with regards to upcoming fixtures with the Premier League on Friday morning [night AEDT]."