Ighalo trains away from Man Utd squad

Manchester United’s striker Odion Ighalo is yet to train with the first team, due to fears over coronavirus.

Ighalo travelled from China to Britain at the end of the transfer window, by which time the outbreak of the virus was well underway in the Wuhan province. Much of China is on lockdown with people in quarantine, and there have been isolated cases of the virus across the world.

While Ighalo did not travel from the Wuhan province, and there is only a very small chance that he was exposed to the virus, let alone have it himself, United have chosen to keep Ighalo training with a personal instructor by himself.

That meant that he missed the team trip away to Marbella, though that was because there was a lack of clarity over whether he would be admitted back into Britain having already arrived, again due to coronavirus fears.

However United have decided to take a safety-first approach and the 30-year-old striker will continue to train away from the first team squad until he has passed the 14-day quarantine period, in order to ensure that there is almost no chance of the virus being passed on to other players.

Ighalo might not be able to feature for the club against Chelsea during their Monday night Premier League game, as he will at best have had a handful of moments with his new colleagues following his six-month loan from the Chinese Super League.

United are six points off fourth place at the moment, and will need to usurp those above them or win the Europa League if they wish to make sure they will have Champions League football next season. If they fail to qualify then that may ultimately put their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, in the firing line, amid reports that Mauricio Pochettino is still keen on the job at Old Trafford.