Portsmouth and Wales midfielder Joe Morrell posts classy tweet after Kevin de Bruyne's positive Covid-19 test

It was revealed today that de Bruyne will have to isolate for 10 days after contracting the virus – less than 72 hours after going head to head with Pompey ace Morrell during the international break.

The two were in direct competition with each other on Tuesday night as Wales and Belgium concluded their Group E qualifying campaign’s for next year’s Qatar World Cup.

De Bruyne scored in the 1-1 draw at the Cardiff City Stadium as the visitors completed their qualification campaign unbeaten and five points clear of Rob Page’s side.

But Morrell earned plenty of praise for his engine-room performance, especially in the second half, as the Welsh booked second place, a home tie and a seeded ranking for March’s play-offs.

One fan on Twitter joked how ‘KDB spent the entire second half firmly tucked into Portsmouth’s Joe Morrell’s back pocket!’

But the modest Blues midfielder didn’t quite see it like that as he hailed his 30-year-old opponent from Tuesday night in his own tweet after it emerged that De Bruyne had tested positive for coronavirus.

Indeed, he quipped: ‘Good job I didn’t get within two metres of him then!’

And in a mark of respect for the three-time Premier League winner, he simply added ‘Player’ with a clapping hands sign.

De Bruyne, who is vaccinated, will now definitely miss Manchester City’s upcoming games against Everton (Premier League) and Paris St-Germain (Champions League) as he isolates.

Speaking after the news broke, City manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC: ‘The symptoms will be minor hopefully.

‘As soon as possible, he can come back. We do not worry about what we are going to miss. The person is more important. We have to help him and hope it goes well while he's isolated.’

Morrell is expected to return to Pompey’s starting XI for Saturday’s home game against AFC Wimbledon unless instructed otherwise.