Watford captain Troy Deeney has spoken out about the vile messages he has received since refusing to return to club training.

The 31 year-old decided not to join up with the rest of the squad because he fears for the health of his young son, as well as the impact the virus is having on BAME players.

But as a result of his decision to stay home and not go back to work, both he and his partner have been subjected to abusive comments from members of the public.

Speaking to CNN Sport, he said: "I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: 'I hope your son gets corona'.

"That's the hard part for me. If you respond to that, people then go: 'Ah, we've got him' and they keep doing it.

"In a time where it's all about mental health and everyone says 'speak up, speak out, please speak', Danny Rose spoke out and I spoke out and we just get absolutely hammered and battered for it.

"So people see that and go 'woah' and it's not just us that gets it, the missus gets direct messages and you'll be walking down the street and people will be like: 'Oh, I'm at work, you go back to work'."

Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante is another high-profile Premier League player who agreed with his club not to return to training for the time being.

On Wednesday, all 20 clubs unanimously agreed to move forward with contact training as the league’s ’Project Restart’ continues to gather pace.

Watford currently sit 17th in the Premier League table and are only out of the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference.