Newcastle boss Bruce tells players to stay at home

The Premier League announced on Friday that all matches would be postponed until April 3 over fears about the spread of the deadly pandemic.

Bruce said Newcastle had already drawn up a response to the coronavirus outbreak when the governing bodies acted on Friday after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive for the illness.

That will entail the players staying at home and working on their personal fitness programmes to stay in shape.

Bruce, whose side were due to face Sheffield United yesterday, said: "We've set the personal programmes in place, they're ready to go".