Manchester United News: Odion Ighalo’s isolation from Carrington a precautionary measure as per government norms

Odion Ighalo’s isolation from the Manchester United Carrington training complex is just a part of a predefined precautionary plan, Sky Sports reports. The Nigerian joined United from the Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua last month, and as such, he was put on a 14-day observation in the wake of the Coronavirus epidemic.

Ighalo did not travel with the United squad to their warm-weather training camp in Spain as a result and has been training separately since his arrival in the UK.

That led to speculations that the Nigerian was banned from the AON training complex at Carrington, as reported by Daily Mirror. It gave rise to fear among supporters regarding Ighalo’s involvement against Chelsea on Monday.

However, Sky Sports have confirmed that the decision to keep the Nigerian away from Carrington was precautionary and does not impact the chances of his involvement against the Blues.

Ighalo will meet his teammates over the weekend

Ighalo was tested for Coronavirus after his arrival in the UK and the result showed no signs of virus infection. However, as per the government norms, the Nigerian was under on a 2-week monitoring program to further ascertain that he is free from the virus. The same precautionary measure was used for everyone travelling to the UK from China since the outbreak of the virus.

As such, Manchester United’s decision to let the Nigerian train away from Carrington is understandable. It is important to keep the training base free from any risk of infection because it would lead to a further 14 days quarantine period for the area. And that would subsequently mean that the Red Devils would not be able to play football games during that time.

In the meanwhile, Ighalo has been training with a personal trainer at the Manchester City centre and is in constant touch with the United trainers currently in Spain. The intention is to get the striker fit and ready for the visit to Stamford Bridge. Incidentally, Ighalo’s probationary period ends this weekend, and that is when he will be integrated into the United team.

As such, the level of the Nigerian’s involvement against Chelsea cannot be confirmed yet. While the chances of him making it into the first 11 are slim, Ighalo could be named among the substitutes. Solskjaer will be hoping that his new signing can give him a different option from the bench and the player himself will be desperate to make a defining start to a new chapter in his career.