Chargers coach Lynn says he had COVID-19

[August 12, 2020]    (Reuters) - Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the year.

Chargers' head coach Anthony Lynn speaks with a referee Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Lynn, 51, is the third coach in the National Football League (NFL) known to have been infected with the novel coronavirus after the New Orleans Saints' Sean Payton and Philadelphia Eagles' Doug Pederson.

"This year is not like any year we've ever had in the NFL," Lynn said during the opening scene of HBO's 'Hard Knocks: Los Angeles' docuseries. "I can't promise you you're not going to get infected. I got infected."

Lynn, who is entering his fourth season with the Chargers, said he decided to get tested after seeing a golfer withdraw from a competition due to similar symptoms.

"If I hadn't been watching that golf event and saw that golfer complain about back aches and soreness, I never would've gotten tested," he said.

"I would've had this and never even known it."

NFL training camps opened across the country last month, with the season scheduled to start on Sept. 10.

(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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