‘It’s a bizarre feeling’ – Columbus Crew’s Mensah describes experience in MLS 'Disney bubble'

BetOdds African All Stars Cincinnati v Columbus Crew MLS Jonathan Mensah Columbus Crew

Having been put on hold since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Major League Soccer returned with a new competition in Orlando

Ghana international Jonathan Mensah has opened up on what life is like inside Walt Disney World’s bubble.

After four-month hiatus owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the Major League Soccer launched the MLS is Back Tournament.The month-long World Cup style championship which began on July 8 will see teams drawn into six groups as sixteen clubs progressing to the knockout stage.

In a bid to prevent the spread of the virus, all participating MLS teams are living inside a bubble. There, they are isolated in their hotels when they are not playing or training.

The 29-year-old described the experience as a ‘bizarre feeling’, claiming his involvement at the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations finals will be useful.

"We are over a week in the bubble now, it's not been bad," Mensah told BBC Sport.

"Just that we need to be isolated always from the other teams, you can't go to another floor to see friends from another team.

"It's a bizarre feeling but at the same time we're in a global pandemic so we need to treat it as such and be more cautious of our movements, what we touch and all that.

"I've been to several tournaments and it's the same feeling, so you're preparing and you know you have games every 4 or 5 days so it's like an Africa Cup of Nations or a World Cup format.

"I'm used to it but it's the first time for some of my teammates so I've been talking them through how the process goes and that we should take our recovery seriously. The feeling is like a major tournament for me.”The former Granada and Anzhi Makhachkala also admitted that being away from home is not easy amid the pandemic which has killed a lot of people globally.

"It's tough (being away from family) because when this pandemic started we were at home with our families all the time so now being away from them is very hard," he continued.

"At the same time we understand, they understand, we signed a contract with our clubs so we need to fulfill it and make this happen.”

FC Dallas withdrew from the championship after 10 players and one staff member tested positive for Covid-19.

2020-07-09 10:00:07

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