Super Eagles winger Samuel Kalu has been granted permission by Bordeaux to return to Nigeria in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

French sports daily L'Equipe says Kalu and five other players Francois Kamano (Guinea), Edson Mexer (Mozambique), Vukasin Jovanovic (Serbia), Ruben Pardo (Spain) and Pablo Castro (Brazil) have chosen to leave France.

Former Sunderland striker Josh Maja is presumably still in France as he was not listed among the players who have returned to their country of birth.

France is one of the worst hit countries by the coronavirus with 40,174 people testing positive for the virus.

Troyes' Korean international Hyun-Jun Suk contracted the virus earlier this month.

In response to to the health crisis linked to Covid-19, the LFP's Administrative Council unanimously decided on Friday 13 March to suspend the Ligue 1 Conforama and Domino's Ligue 2 championships immediately and until further notice.

Kalu has been involved in 1,476 minutes of action in all competitions over the course of this season while Maja has logged 894 minutes.

Igho Kingsley