Manchester United have dropped new on-loan striker Odion Jude Ighalo from their training camp in Marbella Spain.
The BBC reported that Ighalo was dropped because of fears the coronavirus outbreak could lead to his being refused entry back into the UK.
Nigerian Ighalo, 30, flew to Manchester from China last weekend after signing on loan from Shanghai Shenhua.
“He might have liked to have come with the players and got to know them,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told MUTV.
“But the risk [of border restrictions tightening] we don’t want to take.”
United are not due to return until late on Friday before their Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday, 17 February (20:00 GMT kick-off).
Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported that Ighalo has been undergoing double training sessions alongside Team GB’s Olympic Taekwondo team in a bid to get match fit.
The 30-year-old has been working under the watchful eye of performance coach Wayne Richardson, who used to work with Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.