- Charlie Austin, who plays for a Championship side West Bromwich Albion, has contacted COVID-19.
- The danger of the new disease is real, he warns.
- Everyone, including those in their twenties and thirties, should be aware of the threat, he concludes.
"Before I started feeling the symptoms on Saturday I was on the phone to my wife Bianca's mother and I said to her that I hoped if anyone in our family got it that it would be me,” West Bromwich striker Charlie Austin told the Daily Telegraph.
“I felt like I was fit and healthy and I could handle it. A week later and I would say to anyone, even those in their 20s and 30s – 'Don't take it lightly – it's serious'.
“I get that people who haven't got it are going about their lives. Last week, I was living my life.
“Not that I didn't take coronavirus seriously. But this is extremely serious and we should take it that way.”
The coronavirus pandemic is sweeping over the world at the moment with more and more people contracting it.
European football has been hit the hardest - all 5 major leagues, including La Liga, have been suspended indefinitely at the moment.