KIERAN TIERNEY came through a Covid-19 scare two months ago after a positive test.
The £25million Arsenal star was asymptomatic and came through the required 10-day self isolation period without further issues to start the new season.
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Now Tierney is at the heart of a determined fight by the Gunners to be available for their Premier League game against Man City at the Etihad on October 17.
Boss Mikael Arteta – who himself tested positive last March – was left furious after Wednesday’s shock SFA announcement Tierney was having to isolate for 14 days due to him and Celtic’s Ryan Christie being regarded as ‘close contacts’ of Stuart Armstrong who tested positive while all three were together at the Scotland camp in Edinburgh.
That left the defender facing up to missing the City match plus almost certainly the opening Europa League group tie against Rapid Vienna in Austria on the 22nd.
Yet, Tierney had produced THREE negative tests in the week leading up to the stunning news all three players were out of the crunch Euro play-off against win over Israel.
The Gunners are now determinedly lobbying both the Scottish and UK governments to get the 23-year-old’s isolation period lifted, believing he has also developed the necessary antibodies.
Celtic have also demanded a full-scale government probe after Ryan Christie was ordered to self-isolate.
It’s understood they were sent home after being involved in PlayStation games with Armstrong — but the pair say they were using different consoles and obeying social-distancing rules.
They’ll now miss crucial club games — with Christie out of next week’s Old Firm derby — after being told by health chiefs to quarantine for 14 days.
But the players have insisted they have not broken rules and their furious clubs want answers over why they’ve been targeted.
