Manchester United have cancelled first-team training today following drastic measures to counter the coronavirus outbreak announced by the UK government.

The MEN reported on Sunday United players were due back at their Carrington training complex on Tuesday after two days off, but on Monday the UK prime minister Boris Johnson urged everyone in the country to avoid unnecessary social contacts as part of their social distancing measures.

A United spokesperson told the MEN: “In light of governmental advice and the evolving situation the team are not returning to training today.” It is understood United players have provisionally been given three days off and issued personalised fitness programmes to follow.

United’s original plan was for players to report for training as normal, with days off spread out across the forthcoming weeks. Some players were spotted out on errands over the weekend, when they were due to travel to Tottenham Hotspur for their Premier League fixture.

The English football calendar has been suspended until April 3 and the Premier League will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to establish plans for the remainder of the season.

The United players who would not have been on international duty this month would have been granted time off for the week beginning March 23, yet all international fixtures have been cancelled.

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The World Health Organisation said Europe had become the 'epicentre' of the coronavirus outbreak and United have 14 Brits, two Spaniards, two Frenchmen, two Portuguese, a Serbian, and a Dutchman in their first-team squad.

United striker Odion Ighalo arrived at the club's Carrington training complex on Friday morning wearing a face mask and gloves. Ighalo did not enter United's training ground for 14 days at the start of February following his arrival from China, where the coronavirus originated.