Wu focused on family as Espanyol ace allays fan fears

It was a real relief for Chinese soccer fans to learn that Wu Lei is safe and well in Spain.

On the same day that Espanyol said six of its players and staff had tested positive for the coronavirus, the club's Chinese star indicated he's fine and offered a glimpse into his family's self-quarantine.

"I really want to thank the support and concern from everyone," Wu said on his personal blog on Wednesday.

"Because of the epidemic, our club's training schedule and La Liga have all been suspended. All our teammates are staying at home waiting for the situation to improve.

"I'm so touched to know lots of fans worried about the situation of my family and I in Spain. Some fans even managed to send my family some masks. Now my family are not short of all sorts of supplies and the club has been providing us with great support. So don't worry."

Fans' anxiety levels were raised when Espanyol announced there were six confirmed coronavirus cases at the Barcelona-based club, without revealing names.

"This afternoon it has been confirmed that six members from the first-team squad and the technical staff of RCD Espanyol de Barcelona have tested positive for COVID-19 in tests carried out in the past few hours," read a club statement on Wednesday."All are found with mild symptoms and are complying with medical recommendations."

The revelation had many fans fearing the worst for Wu as they urged Espanyol to clarify which players had tested positive.

Wednesday's update, accompanied by a video of Wu rolling around on the floor playing with his kids, put people's minds at rest.

"My priority now is to buy more supplies for my family, so we can avoid going outdoors," said Wu.

"I'll spend more time with my children and record their childhood. This is simply life, but never boring."

It's still not clear if Wu has actually been tested for the virus; some reports have suggested that not all Espanyol players were tested.

Even with La Liga suspended and China's next World Cup qualifiers postponed, home quarantine has not stopped the famously diligent Wu preparing for future games.

The former Shanghai SIPG striker revealed in his blog that he has never stopped doing basic training since La Liga shut down on March 12.

The 28-year-old has made 38 appearances for Espanyol this term, starting 23 of those and scoring seven times in all competitions. However, just three of those goals have come in La Liga, where Espanyol is bottom of the standings, six points from safety. Wu has blamed himself for contributing to his team's travails, with his latest blog post expressing his eagerness to return to action to add to his tally. "I just hope the epidemic can end as soon as possible. Until that day, I wish to meet all of you on the pitch," wrote Wu, whose team has 10 league games left to play－should La Liga actually resume.

At the time of writing, Spain counted 14,769 total infections with 638 deaths. La Liga last week agreed to postpone its next two match days.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has said he is convinced the league will be able to complete the 2019-20 season despite the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

However, with the crisis worsening in Europe, exactly when the league might resume is anyone's guess.

"I think doubts are created artificially. We don't know how long the coronavirus is going to last. We work with the scenarios backwards," Tebas told Radio MARCA last week.

"I have no doubt we're going to finish. We've been working with all the parties involved. We would be irresponsible if we weren't working on plans to finish the competitions."

On the possibility that the current La Liga season could be completely scrapped, Tebas said: "At the football level, it would be a catastrophe if the competitions did not end. We're talking about an impact of billions of euros.

"We all have to make an effort. We can't hide who's going to win, go down, up... You have to be very cautious because that raises doubts in the sponsors."