Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen is first known NFL player to test positive for coronavirus

Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen has become the first known active NFL player to contract coronavirus.

The 24-year-old has tested positive for the disease twice; first three weeks ago and again last week but told Fox Sports that he was now symptom-free and expected to receive the "all-clear" this week.

The report said Allen lost his sense of taste and his sense of smell, to such an extent that he could not even smell ammonia smelling salts, before experiencing flu-like symptoms.

"I talked to Brian this morning, and he said he got it actually about three weeks ago," Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer said. "The first thing he said was, 'I woke up three weeks ago, I couldn't smell anything.

"I lost all sense of smell to the point where I had smelling salts here, I cracked them open, put them to my nose and nothing happened.'

"Then he lost his sense of taste. He said, 'All I could feel was texture in my mouth - literally the only sense I had.'"

Allen was selected 111th overall by the Rams in the 2018 NFL Draft. He played in 13 games as a rookie and made nine starts in 2019 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton said four weeks ago he had tested positive for the new coronavirus, making him the first known case within the NFL.

Additional reporting by Press Association.