The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Family matters as return boosts Harkes
Midfielder back home in Virginia to see grandfather recover from coronavirus
He could hardly have been further away, but the coronavirus pandemic hit close to home for Dundee United midfielder Ian Harkes.
His grandfather, Ron Kunihiro, had been fighting Covid-19 since early March with Harkes stuck in Dundee unable to catch a flight back to America.
Thankfully, now at their family home in Virginia and by his side, Harkes has witnessed the 78-year-old recover.
“I was just happy to get home. My grandad got out of the hospital and he’s been battling Covid,” the 25-year-old said.
“He’s had it for a while. It’s been a long process which started back in the beginning of March when he first started to feel ill.
“He went in to the hospital for 40 days or so.
“I was still in Dundee so we had to
FaceTime or Zoom call the family to keep updated on everything.
“Thankfully, we were able to find some flights and get back over.
“He’s healthy now which is great. It’s been great to see him recover and nice to be here with the family.
“The challenge now is getting back over to Scotland but, thankfully, I’ve got a UK passport so I should be OK.”
Harkes travelled back to the states with fiancée and Celtic Women’s player Sarah Teegarden a few weeks back.
Their wedding plans are on hold and the country is in disarray but Harkes insists it’s nice to spend precious time with his loved ones.
He continued: “She was able to come back as well which is good.
“It’s nice to spend time together but all our wedding plans will be pushed back now.
“On the mental side being back with them all helps tremendously, missing them throughout the year.
“They came over around Christmas time but seeing them again six months later has been big. It always gives me a lift.
“It’s a bit different here than the UK. Some things don’t seem so shut down but that’s just America right now – we’re not quite sure what’s going on.
“It’s quite crazy just now with the amount of cases and, unfortunately, the amount of deaths we’ve had in America.
“I think the country’s a little bit all over the place, some places are opening up and some are closed, but right now we’re still in lockdown in Virginia.
“All the states are different but it’s been OK here.
“I’m not sure how long that will be but we need to be safe, especially with having that experience in my family.
“I think we’ve all had a little bit of a different view towards it but we’ll see how it goes and hope for the best.
“We can still exercise and things like