Aqua Centurion Federica Pellegrini has arrived in Budapest, according to her Instagram, ready to join the ISL for her team’s final regular-season match.
Pellegrini missed the team’s first three matches after testing positive for the novel 2019 coronavirus in mid-October. Pellegrini had not yet departed for the ISL’s bubble in Budapest, and remained in Italy under quarantine.
As of last week, the two-time defending world champion announced via social media that she had tested negative for the coronavirus. She was expected to depart for Budapest today to join the Aqua Centurion team.
That timeline appears on track. Pellegrini posted to Instagram today with the caption “ready to enter the bubble.” And her current Instagram story shows the two-time Olympic medalist in the airport with the caption “Budapest arrival.”
The Aqua Centurions are on a bye week in Week 4, meaning they won’t compete in either of the matches Thursday and Friday of this week. The team’s regular-season finale will take place Monday and Tuesday. The Aqua Centurions are not expected to make the league’s postseason, but Pellegrini’s addition will help the Italian-based franchise be a little more competitive in a brutal Week 5 grouping that will include three of last year’s four best teams: the London Roar, Cali Condors, and LA Current.
It appears the Aqua Centurions will not add Italian standout Stefania Pirozzi, though. Pirozzi also tested positive for the coronavirus before the season. She indicated on Instagram that she was now testing negative for COVID-19 after 26 days of quarantining, but sources say she will not travel to Budapest in time for Aqua’s final meet because unlike Pellegrini, she hasn’t yet cleared the medical examinations to return to competition after testing negative for COVID-19.
