Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Odion Ighalo, Kelechi Iheanacho and a host of Premier League stars arriving back in the UK from their holidays might face a lengthy wait to begin pre-season training due to strict government measures, according to reports by Daily Mail.
It has emerged that several top-flight players may have attempted to bend the rules by visiting countries not on the UK’s red list, after initially jetting off to destinations which have experienced high levels of coronavirus.
But The Sun reported that all 20 clubs have now received a warning from the league that players who have traveled to the 155 nations struck the most by new cases must self-isolate for 14 days.
There will be no exemptions made, and even players who had tested negative for the disease would also be barred from gearing up for the new season should they visit places on the ‘red’ list.
The crackdown has been introduced to prevent players from effectively beating the system put in place to prevent further spread of the virus.
Reports suggested that stars, who may have enjoyed their reduced breaks away this summer in crisis-hit countries, returned to the UK after passing through Greece or Germany first to avoid having to isolate.
The majority of top-tier teams in England will return to training this week, but a number of their players have been embroiled in a race against time to fly back home with further travel restrictions across the globe looming.