Sheffield Wednesday man returns to UK as club looks ahead to return of training

The Parma-owned forward has been in his native Holland in recent weeks and was one of three Owls first-teamers threatened by coronavirus rules set to be put in place by Prime Minister Boris Johnson stipulating that people arriving in the UK by air would have to quarantine for a period of 14 days.

Yesterday Da Cruz posted images on social media indicating he was on his way back to the UK by boat.

Midfielder Joey Pelupessy has also been stationed in Holland since Wednesday training stopped in March while centre-half Julian Börner will have to make his way back from Germany. It is not yet known how or when the duo are expected back in Sheffield.

The Government ruling looks set to cause chaos at clubs up and down the country, with fears players will be caught in a scramble to return ahead of the ruling being brought in at the end of the month. A 14-day quarantine would prevent any imminent return to training.

Speaking in an address to the nation last Sunday, the Prime Minister said: “To prevent re-infection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.”

Asked about the potential travel issues earlier this month Pelupessy said: “It’s an issue for the foreigners and we’ve been in touch with the manager about it.

“If we find out training’s going to start in two weeks we need to get back there so we’re ready for the start of training.”

It’s a ruling that has caused controversy. Speaking anonymously, a government adviser told The Guardian: “There was really no scientific advice to inform the latest announcement. It also doesn’t really make sense for countries which have lower per capita current Covid case numbers than us; for example, most of the EU.”