Manchester United could reportedly prevent Bruno Fernandes from linking up with the Portuguese national team for March's international fixtures.
With the coronavirus pandemic and new variants still raging across the globe, Premier League clubs are not obliged to release Portuguese or South American players for the next batch of international fixtures.
Due to Portugal being on the UK government's red list, Fernandes would be forced to undergo 10 days of self-isolation when arriving back in the country, meaning that he would miss April's matches with Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.
As a result, the Manchester Evening News speculates that Man United may block the playmaker from taking part in next month's World Cup qualifiers with Azerbaijan, Serbia and Luxembourg.
With numerous South American countries also on the list, the report adds that Liverpool have already chosen not to allow Alisson, Fabinho or Roberto Firmino to link up with Brazil for March's games.
Fernandes, who recently called on Man United to eliminate their "many mistakes", notched up his 13th Premier League goal of the season in Saturday's 3-3 draw with Everton at Old Trafford.
Ben Knapton
