Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo will not be part of the club’s training camp in Spain.
The club is afraid the coronavirus outbreak could lead to him being refused entry back into the United Kingdom.
Nigerian Ighalo flew to Manchester from China last weekend after signing on loan from Shanghai Shenhua.
The 30-year-old, who is currently in Manchester, will stay in England “on a personal training and fitness programme”.
United said that “it is simply a precautionary measure as the situation continues to be monitored”.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told the club website: “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.”
The decision is a huge blow to Manchester United, who signed Ighalo with a view to him making an immediate impact.
United are not due to return until late on Friday before their Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday, 17 February.
About Coronavirus
Coronavirus, which started in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far killed more than 700 people.
In spite of efforts to contain the virus, it has gone international.
There have been 28,368 cases confirmed so far.
Tens of thousands have contracted the virus across 28 countries, including three in the UK.
