MANCHESTER UNITED have become the latest club to officially cancel training amid the growing coronavirus outbreak.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad were initially meant to return to Carrington on Tuesday after two days off following their Europa League exploits last week.
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Manchester United have scrapped first-team training following updated government guidelines on dealing with coronavirusCredit: Reuters
Yet those plans were scuppered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s latest warning that urged everyone in the country to stop non-essential travel and avoid unnecessary contact with others.
According to MEN, United’s players have now provisionally been given three days off and issued personalised fitness programmes to follow from home.
A club spokesman said: “In light of governmental advice and the evolving situation the team are not returning to training today.”
United’s original plan was to spread days out across the next few weeks with players reporting to training as normal after testing them twice a day for the deadly bug.
SunSport revealed that Paul Pogba had been set to join his teammates for the first time on Tuesday after recovering from a troublesome ankle injury.
The World Cup-winning midfielder has played just seven Premier League games this season and has been out of action since Boxing Day.
The Frenchman would have likely rejoined the rest of the group already had it not been for United’s 5-0 win over LASK in Austria in the Europa League last-16 first leg on Thursday.
Pogba had been undergoing personal 30-minute sessions with first-team coach Michael Carrick ahead of his return but will now be doing fitness work alone.
Bruno Fernandes meanwhile has already proved he is ready for the coronavirus crisis by joining in Twitter’s ‘Stay At Home Challenge’ by showing off his skills.
The Portuguese, who won United’s Player of the Month in his first four weeks with the club, uploaded a clip on social media showing him playing keepy-uppy with a toilet roll.
Meanwhile, the spread of coronavirus has caused the postponement of the Premier League, the EFL, the FA Women’s Super League and the Women’s Championship until April 3.
The disease has officially been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, and countries are banning large gathering to avoid the spread.
Leagues in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Holland and many more have been suspended, with this season’s Bundesliga to potentially be scrapped.
Watch Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes nails coronavirus ‘stay at home challenge’
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
