Ighalo Trains With Man United Teammates For The First Time

Manchester United new boy Odion Ighalo arrived at the club’s Carrington training ground for the first time on Sunday morning, as he prepares to make his debut against Chelsea on Monday night.

The ex-Watford striker, 30, joined United on transfer deadline day last month from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua.

But he has yet to train with his new teammates since arriving from the Far East.

Ighalo was initially left out of the Red Devils’ warm-weather training camp in Spain over fears that border restrictions amid the coronavirus may not allow the Nigerian international back into the UK should he leave.

That’s despite Ighalo not travelling to the UK from Wuhan, where the virus, which has now claimed over 1,100 lives, originated.

In addition, Mirror Sport revealed last week that Ighalo had been banned from Carrington while United were in Spain over fears of a potential coronavirus risk.

The striker was instructed to train away from the AON Training Complex for health and safety issues and thus began his career as a United player working with a personal trainer at a separate location in Manchester.

Ighalo has been training with Manchester-based performance coach Wayne Richardson at the GB Taekwondo Centre in Manchester.

But he arrived at Carrington on Sunday morning, chauffeured in to train with his new teammates for the first time.

He is set to travel with the squad for Monday night’s meeting with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, where, fitness permitting, he is expected to be named among the substitutes by boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian insisted on Friday that he can have an impact if called upon, despite not training with his new teammates.

“Well, it didn’t take me too long,” said Solskjaer. “I didn’t need to have a training session to come on.

“As a striker, you get thrown on out there and it might be that he’ll have to come off the bench to give us a goal.

“He’ll be involved with us and travel down with us. Now he’s out of that two-week [incubation] precaution period we made, let’s see if he’s involved or not.

We’ve kept in touch with him. We’ve done our own programme, he’s done his, and it was always going to be a case of him having to integrate with us, having been out in China.

“He needs to get used to the players, the team, up to speed as quick as he can, he’s been working really hard.

“I think he’s been pinching himself at times, being at his favourite club at the age of 30, but he’s earned that one and hopefully he impresses us so we can see him play.

“He was the top scorer at the African Cup of Nations last year, so he can help the club, he’s very professional, a good lad and will give something to the group.”