Watford captain Troy Deeney says people told him they wished his baby son would contract coronavirus after he chose not to return to training.
Deeney did not want to put his child, who has had breathing difficulties, "in more danger" and raised concerns over the increased risk to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) players.
He is due to resume training next week.
"I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: 'I hope your son gets corona'," Deeney, 31, said.
He told CNN Sport: "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'."
On Wednesday, Premier League clubs unanimously voted to resume contact training but Watford are not expected to resume group training until next week.
Deeney has spoken with England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, and is expected to return to club training next week.
"He's been doing very, very good research and there is a lot of goodwill on his part to tell me, ultimately, that I'm going to be looked after as best as they can and, ultimately, there is going to be some form of risk for all of us going back to work," Deeney said.
"Lockdown and the social distancing measures coming down mean people will still always have risk."
Latest Stories
-
Democracy is going to reverse in West Africa if we don’t tackle economic hardships – Atuguba
39 mins -
Bawumia commissions 124 housing units for victims of Appiatse disaster
49 mins -
Stonebwoy’s The Livingstone Foundation surprises talented autistic boy with gifts
54 mins -
NPP should’ve referred Kingsley Nyarko’s bribery allegation to the police – Inusah Fuseini
1 hour -
Police pursue gunmen for killing 2 off-duty officers at Trasacco
2 hours -
Bayer Leverkusen beat Roma to win semifinal first leg
2 hours -
Aston Villa face tough task after 2-4 defeat to Olympiacos
2 hours -
NGO empowers women and girls with disabilities
2 hours -
Guinness World Records: Nigerian woman paints nails for three days
2 hours -
Season 2 of ‘I’m in Love with Boma Ye’ returns this May on Joy Prime
2 hours -
Akufo-Addo’s disrespect of chiefs won’t be tolerated – Haruna Iddrisu
2 hours -
Chalobah and Jackson score as Chelsea defeat Tottenham
2 hours -
NPP praises Police, EC for successful Ejisu by-election
3 hours -
2024 Ramadan Cup: Bawumia donates 20,000 to four teams as Ashaiman lifts trophy
3 hours -
PMI Ghana Chapter members tour Kasoa BSP Project
3 hours