Manchester United’s preseason friendly against Preston North End on Saturday has been called, after a COVID-19 outbreak within the Red Devils’ first-team.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team were set to face the Championship side at Deepdale.
But the match has now been called off, after United confirmed they had “identified a small number of suspected positive cases” following a round of testing on Thursday.
The cases are a mixture of players and staff, who tested positive with lateral flow tests but will need to take PCR tests to confirm the result.
A statement issued by United on Thursday said: “Maintaining Covid security is a priority for us.
“Following routine testing of the first team training group today, we have identified a small number of suspected positive cases. This has led to those people isolating, pending further tests.
“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 and disappointment caused to fans. Any Manchester United fans 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.”
The decision to cancel the game with Preston leaves United with only one more warm-up fixture before the start of the Premier League campaign on August 14.
United have beaten Derby County, lost to Queens Park Rangers and drawn with Brentford so far this summer.
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