Odion Ighalo kept off Manchester United training camp over Coronavirus scare

Nigerian footballer, Odion Ighalo who made a historic move from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua to English club side Manchester United few days ago, will not travel to Spain for Manchester United’s winter training camp.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak in China and UK’s tighter border restrictions on travellers who have been in China within the past 14 days, the Nigerian footballer will stay back in England as he may not be allowed into the country again if he leaves.

Ighalo who is currently in Manchester, will stay in England “on a personal training and fitness programme”. The English football club said “it is simply a precautionary measure as the situation continues to be monitored”.

The club’s manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also said;

“Odion will stay in Manchester, because he arrived from China in the last 14 days.

“Because of the situation in China, we’re not sure if he’d be allowed back into England if he leaves the country again.

“So he’s staying here working with a personal coach, individual programme and his family then can settle in England as well. That’s a plus.

“Of course he might have liked to have come with the players and got to know them, but the risk [of potential border restrictions tightening], we don’t want to take that.”

Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Lee Grant will all miss the camp due to injury. The Manchester United team will be returning to England late on Friday February 14, before their Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday February 17.