Odion Ighalo was minutes away from contracting coronavirus when Manchester United’s friendly against Stoke City got called off on Tuesday.

The friendly encounter was scheduled to put United players in competitive shape ahead of the resumption of the Premier League which had been in limbo since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Stoke players arrived at Carrighton on Tuesday afternoon and were raring to take on Ole Solskjaer’s men who had trained on Saturday in a matter of minutes.

However, news got out that a member of the Potter’s coaching staff had tested positive for the virus  following the release of the results of a mandatory test carried out on Monday ahead of the friendly.

The Guardian reports that Stoke City immediately alerted United’s medical team about the development as Ighalo and his teammates were “locked down” away from the visitors.

A source at United’s training ground told the UK Mirror: “Stoke were rushed out of the Academy very quickly indeed.

“United’s officials didn’t hang about – they had Stoke out of there really quickly as you’d imagine.

 “It could have been a scary situation but United’s protocols were absolutely spot on and prevented what could have been a major problem with the season now just days away.”

Ighalo joined Manchester in February on deadline day when China topped the world’s coronavirus chart.  However, with his contract having expired in June, United and his parent club were locked in negotiations before the loan deal with the Premier League outfit got extended till January.

With Pogba and Marcus Rashford back on their feet, Ole is spoiled with choice as United lock horns against Tottenham in their first post covid-19 Premier League game.