Manchester United first team players and staff test positive for Covid as Preston friendly cancelled

Manchester United have announced that a “small number” of first team players and staff are suspected to have tested positive for Covid-19, leading Saturday’s friendly with Preston North End to be cancelled.

Those in question returned positives after a routine round of lateral flow testing on Thursday and are now isolating while they await the results of PCR tests.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were due to travel to Deepdale on Saturday to face Preston in their fourth pre-season friendly but that trip has now been called off.

A club statement read: “As a precautionary measure based on Covid protocols, we have taken the difficult decision that we will not now be able to play the friendly match against Preston North End this Saturday.

“We regret the disruption to Preston North End and disappointment caused to fans.

“Any Manchester United supporters who have purchased tickets for the game will be automatically refunded.

“At this stage, we do not expect further disruption around our forthcoming matches, but we will continue to follow Premier League protocols in this regard.”

United drew 2-2 with Premier League newcomers Brentford at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, with Anthony Elanga and Andreas Pereira scoring United’s goals.

Solskjaer is currently without several first team players who were involved in major international tournaments this summer, though the likes of Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford are due to return to training on Monday.