"It's far bigger than football" - Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk issues statement to fans amid coronavirus scare

It’s an unprecedented move and follows leagues and other sporting events across the world in shutting shop.

Wednesday’s next three fixtures – against Nottingham Forest, Bristol City and West Brom – have been called off and will be rescheduled for a later date.

Their next fixtures as it stands will be at Swansea City on April 4, but The Star understands contingency plans are already being discussed at league level in the event of a further suspension.

The next match at Hillsborough is scheduled to take place on April 9 against Preston.

“It’s the right decision without a doubt,” said Monk.

“We have to follow the advice of the authorities, obviously it’s not just here, it’s around the world, so it was probably inevitable.

“It’s an unprecedented situation, so we’re going into the unknown. We can only do what we are guided to do.

“It’s for the greater good, health is the most important thing of everyone and that’s far bigger than football.”

No Wednesday player or staff member is believed to have shown symptoms of the illness so far, with players up and down the country having contracted the illness or been advised to go into self-isolation.

The break will likely see the likes of Adam Reach, Massimo Luongo, Moses Odubajo and Kieran Lee recover from their fitness troubles, delivering Monk a full squad to pick from heading into the rest of the season.

He told swfc.co.uk: “At the moment, our next game will be Swansea, and this doesn’t change our preparation.

“It’s obviously an extended period of three weeks, but we’ll train as normal and we’ve already put a schedule together.

“We have to maintain fitness and training. Right now we are told our next game is Swansea and we need to make sure we are ready for that game working around these circumstances.”