Newcastle star Atsu 'doing everything to keep in shape' amid coronavirus break

Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu is 'doing everything to keep in shape' as he believes the Premier League will be 'OK soon' amid the coronavirus outbreak.

All professional leagues in England have been suspended until the end of April 2020 because of the pandemic and the Magpies' players have all been given individual training programmes to work on after football operations at the club's training ground were temporarily shut down.

Ghanaian international, Atsu is among a number of Newcastle players who have returned home and the 28-year-old is doing his gymwork and cardio sessions in Accra.

The former Chelsea winger touched down in Ghana last week and has since kept his club updated on his safety and progress.

"People are buying sanitiser and a lot of things to clean their hands, so for now it is very safe," Atsu told the club's website about the situation in Ghana.

"The government has banned gatherings in the country, as the UK did, so for me it is very strange because I can't watch football because there is no football anywhere to watch and normally when I'm not training, I'm watching football.

"But I'm training and doing everything to keep in shape, to pick up with the season, because I believe the Premier League will be OK soon so I have to train and keep my fitness levels up", The Ghanaian international added.

Christian Atsu also expressed optimism that the world will win the war against the coronavirus.

"We are all praying for everyone affected by this virus. I believe we must all take good care of ourselves and we will try everything to fight this virus - and I know, if we are united, we are going to fight this virus and we are going to win." He concluded.