Portsmouth striker John Marquis praises club for their handling of coronavirus outbreak

On Saturday, it was revealed that four players had tested positive for covid-19 – James Bolton, Andy Cannon, Sean Raggett, and then a few hours later, Haji Mnoga.

They were among the 48 personnel within the club tested in the wake of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta’s diagnoses of the virus at the end of last week – although the outcomes of 10 more examinations remain unknown.

The Gunners took on the Blues in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, March 2.

But as soon as news emerged that the Spaniard had tested positive for coronavirus, Pompey immediately sent the players and staff home from their Roko training ground on Friday, March 13.

They’ve remained there ever since, with those who been infected now in self-isolation.

And it’s that quick thinking and reaction to the situation, plus the Blues’ work with staff members and the players ever since, that has earned the praise of Marquis.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live on Saturday, he revealed his test result had come back negative.

He then gave credit to Pompey and chief executive Mark Catlin for the way in which they have tackled the unwelcome challenge.

Marquis told the BBC: ‘Yeah, I’m fine.

‘The results have been coming in over the past 48 hours.

‘The physio’s been ringing everyone individually and speaking to them and asking what they’ve been doing.

‘How they’ve been getting on and have we been able to do our training programme that we’ve been given and stuff like that.

‘Then they’ve obviously spoken to the lads that do have it (coronavirus) on how they’re going to help and what they can do in terms of delivering food to their homes, stuff like that, and keeping them safe.

‘It’s all been done very well by the club, obviously the organisation from Mark Catlin, the CEO, and the people down.

‘They’ve made sure we’re all doing the right things to keep it out of us as much as we can - and then obviously to the wider community and our families and friends as well.’