Ebola: African Premier League players who are returning from International matches to be checked for Ebola

Premier League clubs are screening African football players who have returned from international matches for Ebola, amid the Ebola crisis on the continent.

Cheick Tiote, Papiss Cisse and Wilfried Bony are among the players who will be checked for the virus, after competing in African Nations Cup qualifiers.

It comes as health officials announce that airport screening for the killer disease, which was put in place at Heathrow earlier this week, will be extended to Manchester and Birmingham.

Although no players have travelled back to the UK from the worst-affected parts of West Africa, the potential spread of the killer disease is being 'closely considered' by various club medics.

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew said the club had a 'strategy' in place to closely monitor cup hopefuls Tiote and Cisse, who returned to Tyneside after representing the Ivory Coast and Senegal respectively.

Wilfried Bony, who plays for Swansea, will also be put through tests after returning from playing with the Ivory Coast, his club confirmed.

But Manchester City FC  said the club would 'not be engaging publicly in any discussion' about Yaya Touré and Ebola for patient confidentiality reasons.

A spokesman did confirm the Ivory Coast captain was back at the training ground yesterday.

Speaking about his two players, Pardew said: 'We'd be naive not to have concerns. We have a strategy for when they return and making sure they and their families are taken care of.

'They're essential to us and our doctor has looked into the problems that might arise and also protection for them and to make sure we do our very best to help them.' 

Midfielder Tiote has been in DR Congo with the Ivory Coast, while Cisse was with Senegal in Dakar this week. Neither country has an outbreak.

Pardew continued: 'The two boys who travelled to Africa are not back yet but reports are that they're both well.

'Of course it's a worry when you've got players such a long way away, you're just looking at your phone hoping no messages come thorough that are negative. We've been lucky this time around.' 

A spokesman for Swansea insisted the checks being given to Bony were no different to those given to all players returning from international games.

But he said the club was 'well aware' of the Ebola situation.  

He said: 'Out of our players, it is only Bony that has returned from Africa. The club is well aware of the situation, but the doctors are quite relaxed about it.  

'He will go through normal fitness checks and medical tests which any player returning from an international game would go through.'

A football source said yesterday that the Premier League was not 'particularly concerned' about any risk of the deadly virus being brought back.