Lehner competes for Vegas Golden Knights in the National Hockey League (NHL) and was due to be in Sweden’s squad at the Games.

But the 30-year-old took to social media to confirm that he will not be travelling to the Chinese capital to compete in the Winter Olympics.

A series of COVID-19 countermeasures are set to be in place at Beijing 2022 in a bid to reduce the spread of the virus.

But Lehner, who is a campaigner for mental health awareness, fears he will be "locked down" should he test positive for coronavirus.

"Have to address I will not go to the Olympics," Lehner said in a post on Twitter  following the Knights’ 3-2 win over Calgary Flames yesterday.

"I’m very disappointed and it [is a] tough decision for me as it’s [a] once in a lifetime opportunity.

"Reality is that what [has] been said about how its going to be is not ideal for my mental health."

According to ESPN, Lehner is the first leading NHL player to confirm that he will not be playing at Beijing 2022.

With Lehner unavailable, Sweden are set to turn to Jacob Markström who will look to fill the void left by long-time goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who announced his retirement in August.

"Took [a] long time to make [a] decision with my psychiatrist and family," Lehner wrote in another post on Twitter.

"My wellbeing [has to] come first and being locked down and not knowing what happens if you test positive is [too] much of a risk for me.

"Sweden will have a great team and Markström is a beast.

"Hope people understand."

Sweden’s men’s team have won nine Olympic medals, including gold at both Turin 2006 and Lillehammer 1996.

They claimed silver at Sochi 2014, losing to Canada in the final but they crashed out in the quarter-finals at Pyeongchang 2018.

The men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments at Beijing 2022 are scheduled to run from February 9 to 20 next year.