Manchester United will team up with Premier League rivals such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City to charter a private jet to bring their South American players back to the UK following the international break, it has been reported.
Clubs have been facing an anxious wait to find out whether they can get their stars back in time for their next Premier League fixtures, with World Cup qualifiers kicking off as late as Friday morning.
It means teams playing on Saturday may not be able to get players back in time to take part in their games, with United set to face-off against Leicester City at 3pm Saturday at the King Power Stadium.
But a flight chartered by Premier League clubs will reportedly fly nine players taking part in the Brazil vs Uruguay World Cup qualifier in Manaus, which will kick off at 1.30am UK time on Friday, including United stars Edinson Cavani and Fred.
But despite rushing back to the UK, Fred will not be involved in the match as he will be required to quarantine, in line with the latest Government rules, after travelling to red-listed Colombia to take part in Brazil’s 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Before the international break, the Government agreed to a ‘bespoke exemption’ from the usual restrictions, which require individuals returning to the UK from countries deemed to be high risk in terms of coronavirus to quarantine in a Government-approved hotel for 10 days.
Under the exemption, fully vaccinated professional footballers were allowed to quarantine in a club-approved facility for 10 days instead, leaving only to train or play, but were not allowed to isolate at home.
Edinson Cavani will not have to undergo the 10 days in isolation after their countries were removed from the red list. Just seven countries remain on the red list following the latest changes. They are Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela