Saracens respond to concerns over Mako Vunipola

Saracens respond to concerns over Mako Vunipola
Concerns over the increasing spread of coronavirus prompted England to withdraw Mako Vunipola from their squad for Saturday’s Six Nations fixture against Wales, however, the prop trained with Saracens on Tuesday despite initial reports he was self-isolating.

 
The 29-year-old had been to Tonga for family reasons and, rather than returning via Auckland and the United States, he flew back to England at the weekend via Hong Kong. The England management said he is showing no symptoms of coronavirus but, after learning Vunipola had stopped over in Hong Kong, opted for a safety-first approach. “He is not sick but it is a precaution,” said an England spokesperson

 

Rather than self-isolating, it emerged that Vunipola subsequently returned to his club to train, with Saracens and England starkly at odds over governmental guidelines.

Saracens have since responded to the criticism of the situation and have confirmed that Mako is in fact in contention to play for Saracens this weekeend:

"Billy Vunipola and Mako Vunipola returned to Saracens after visiting family in Tonga which included a short stop at Hong Kong Airport. Travellers returning from Hong Kong are not currently subject to mandatory quarantine or self-isolation unless they become symptomatic", a statement from the club read.
 


Saracens confirmed that neither Mako or Billy displayed symptoms: "Neither Billy or Mako have displayed symptoms of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and on their return to London were assessed by the club’s medical staff. The duo have been around the Saracens environment for the past couple of days, with the latter available for selection this weekend.
 


Saracens will continue to follow the Public Health England and World Health Organisation regulations surrounding coronavirus and the medical staff will be closely monitoring Billy and Mako on a regular basis."




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