The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has left Red Sox ace Chris Sale wondering if the serious illness he battled at the beginning of spring training was COVID-19.

Sale was late arriving to camp in mid-February due to a a flu-like illness that turned into a case of pneumonia. At the time, a flu test came back negative but Sale wasn’t tested for coronavirus, which had not yet spread widely and was not yet being tested for in the United States.

With the benefit of hindsight, Sale believes some of his symptoms mirrored the reported symptoms of COVID-19. As more and more cases have surfaced in recent weeks, Sale has started to wonder if he had the virus without knowing it.

“Honestly, yes. No doubt," Sale replied when asked if it has crossed his mind that he potentially had the virus. "It has been talked about a lot. I don’t know if there’s a test now, but I think they’re working on a test to see if you have the antibodies for it, meaning you’ve had it... to take a test and see if you had it. It’s crazy to look at my symptoms and think about the symptoms of people that have the COVID-19 virus, and some of the similarities. We may never know, but I’m definitely hoping not.”

The Red Sox ordered Sale to stay away from the team’s facility for a short period in February so that he didn’t spread his illness to teammates or other team employees. He returned to camp once he felt better and was told by doctors that he was no longer contagious.

“As contagious as this virus is, I think if I had it, somebody in my family and a lot of people at the park would have been infected by it,” Sale said. “I don’t want to make light of it and joke about having something like that, but it definitely crossed my mind and I asked people about it. I got tested for the flu and it came back negative. The tests for the virus weren’t out yet. If there’s a way to find out, I’d love to find out. I don’t know. I think it might be a stretch.”

Before Sale’s elbow flared up in early March, the lefty was scheduled to miss the first two weeks of the season due to the delay caused by his sickness. He’ll miss the entire 2020 season -- if one is played -- after undergoing Tommy John surgery last week.