Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is reportedly facing the prospect of missing the club's next four games after international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive for coronavirus.
The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday that Ronaldo had returned a positive test, forcing their record goalscorer and captain into self-isolation at the team hotel.
The rest of the Portugal squad has tested negative for COVID-19, but A Bola claims that new UK regulations could force those returning to the Premier League to stay at home for two weeks regardless.
Elite-level sport has exemptions in place to ensure that it does not grind to a halt again during a second wave of the pandemic, but The Mirror reports that it is not yet clear whether Fernandes and Portugal's other Premier League players would be covered with Ronaldo isolating at the team hotel.
Should Fernandes be forced to isolate for two weeks then he would miss Man United's matches against Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and RB Leipzig.
Other clubs would be hit even harder than Man United, though, with Wolverhampton Wanderers boasting five players in the current Portugal squad - Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Daniel Podence.
Manchester City would also be without Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva for the next two weeks, while Liverpool would have to make do without new signing Diogo Jota.
However, should all of those players continue to return negative results in the regular tests they are obliged to take then they are expected to be available for the period immediately after the international break.
Barney Corkhill
