Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has discussed what is an ‘impossible situation’ to Edinson Cavani, following the star’s Instagram post regarding international selection.
It may feel as if the new Premier League season is just getting underway, yet there is already set to be a break in proceedings following this weekend’s fixtures, as attention turns to international duty over the next week or so
While club’s are often wary of their players linking up with their national team due to injury fears, the ongoing impact of Covid-19 has further complicated matters, with some players facing a 10 day quarantine should they fly to a country on the UK government’s red list.
That scenario has forced clubs to unanimously vote to block players from being released to countries in that bracket, with the Premier League’s statement insisting that this will apply to 60 players, with no government exemption given to avoid quarantine.
One player who has seemingly been irked by this decision is United striker Edinson Cavani, the Uruguayan posting a series of question marks on his Instagram story, with the veteran marksman reportedly keen to play for his country in their September World Cup qualifiers.
The former Paris Saint-Germain striker has already missed the first two weeks of the season after an agreed delayed return to pre-season and thus further absence would be far from ideal for the club.
Cavani reacting on Instagram to the red list ban for Premier League players. It will have been over eight weeks since Cavani last played (for Uruguay), come his possible involvement at Wolves on Sunday. Uruguay have three games in six days in September #mufc pic.twitter.com/ry0NRhqlnf
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) August 25, 2021
However, Solskjaer explained that both the Red Devils and Cavani face an ‘impossible situation’ with another international break scheduled for both October and November, although the Norwegian left no doubt as to where his loyalties would lie should he be put in that scenario.
“It’s a fact that if you have to have 10 days in a hotel quarantining with no chance to train, no chance to keep your fitness up then you’ll need another 10-14 days to get back up to fitness again – and then you’ve got to fly again.
“It’s an impossible situation for the clubs, it’s an impossible situation for the players. We understand that there are rules and broader issues here, that’s why we have to follow the rules.
“If there was a choice for me, playing for Norway or playing for Man United, I know who my employer is.”
Cavani could well make his return to action away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
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Norway is not Uruguay if they call me to play for norway I probably wouldn’t go either