Montpellier midfielder Sambia recovering from coronavirus: club

MONTPELLIER, France: Montpellier midfielder Junior Sambia, the first Ligue 1 player to be struck down with the coronavirus, is on the road to recovery and is preparing to leave hospital, the club said Saturday.

“All really happy that you’re doing better. We hope to see you very soon on the pitch,” the club tweeted.

The 23-year-old French player was last week admitted to a Montpellier hospital, where he was diagnosed with coronavirus and provisionally put into an artificial coma.

While Sambia was the first Ligue 1 player affected by COVID-19, South Korean Hyun-jun Suk, who plays for Troyes in the second division, was the first professional player in France officially diagnosed with the virus. The pandemic has stopped French football, with 10 rounds of matches of the season left.