The Super Eagles defensive duo of Ola Aina and William Troost-Ekong will not play another Serie A game for their respective clubs until at least the 3rd of April due to the coronavirus epidemic.
It comes after the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced the cancellation of all sporting events in the country, including Italy’s top flight.
Italy is one of the most adversely hit countries by the coronavirus, with much of the entire northern region quarantined.
An estimated 16 million people have been placed under a widespread lockdown in the northern part of the country.
Five matches in the Italian top flight on Sunday were played behind closed doors due to the epidemic.
But the entire country has now been flagged as a red zone, necessitating the need to keep people indoors and cancelling of all sporting engagements.
“There is no more time, the numbers tell us there is a significant increase in the contagion, in intensive care and the deaths,” Conte told a press conference, according to Goal.
“Our habits have to change. We must sacrifice something for the good of all of Italy. This is why we will adopt even more stringent measures.”
“I will sign the new decree, which can be summed up with the phrase ‘I am staying at home.’ There are no more red zones. There is just an Italy that is protected.
“We must avoid travel unless for proven work reasons, health reasons or other necessities. We ban large public gatherings.
“We also have more stringent measures in mind for sporting events. Serie A and all sporting tournaments, in general, are suspended. All the fans must accept that.”
There are twelve more rounds of this campaign still to be played, with eight-time defending champions Juventus leading the table with 63 points, one more than second-placed Lazio.