With a total of 35 players from 16 Premier League teams heading out to the African Nations Cup in Ghana, their absence will be marked over the coming month.

Here, to highlight the impact African players have had on English football, we bring you an all-star Premier League XI, consisting only of African players.

As you will see, it is quite some team.

(Based on a 3-5-2 formation)

1. Richard Kingson (Birmingham and Ghana) - The shot stopper wins his place by default as he is the only keeper from the Premier League to travel to Ghana, but he is nevertheless one of the more reliable African number ones.

2. Joseph Yobo (Everton and Nigeria) - The Nigerian defender is set to head out to the tournament after playing in the Carling Cup semi-final against Chelsea and his expert marshalling of the back line will be sorely missed by the Toffees over the next month.

3. Geremi (Newcastle and Cameroon) - The Magpies captain is a veteran of over 50 caps for his country and his experience means he gets the nod in one of our three defensive positions.

4. Kolo Toure (Arsenal and Ivory Coast) - The versatile 26-year-old has become a rock in the heart of the Gunners defence and is equally important for his country, with whom he has already won 45 caps.

5. Michael Essien (Chelsea and Ghana) - Essien's performances at the 2006 World Cup in Germany helped Ghana reach the second round, where his absence through suspension was keenly felt as the Black Stars fell to Brazil.

6. MohamedSissoko (Liverpool and Mali) - The tenacious midfielder will team up with the likes of Freddie Kanoute, Mahamadou Diarra and Mamady Sidebe as Mali try to put the violence that marred their friendly with Togo in October firmly behind them.

7. Didier Zokora (Tottenham and Ivory Coast) - The midfielder will be hoping his presence in Ghana will help spur his nation to go one better than two years ago, when they were beaten in the final by Egypt.

8. El-Hadji Diouf (Bolton and Senegal) - The once-retired striker is one of his country's most celebrated exports and even if he fails to produce every week in the Premier League, he is still held in extremely high regard in his homeland.

9. John Utaka (Portsmouth and Nigeria) - The pacy winger has become a firm favourite with the Pompey faithful and if he can reproduce his recent form over the coming weeks, Nigeria will be a force to be reckoned with.

10. Obafemi Martins (Newcastle and Nigeria) - He seems to have been around for ages, but is actually still only 23 and his pace and power are more than capable of tearing apart the world's best defences.

11. Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Ivory Coast) - Just recovered from knee surgery, Drogba proved his fitness in last weekend's FA Cup win over QPR and will spearhead the Elephants attack with his usual blend of skill, determination and athleticism.

And that's without even mentioning Arsenal's Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast) and Alex Song (Cameroon), Birmingham's Mehdi Nafti and Radhi Jaidi (both Tunisia), Blackburn's Aaron Mokoena (South Africa), Bolton's Abdoulaye Meite (Ivory Coast), Chelsea's Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast) and Jo hn Obi Mikel (Nigeria), Everton's Ayegbeni Yakubu (Nigeria) and Steven Pienaar (South Africa), Fulham's Diomansy Kamara (Senegal), Manchester United's new signing Manuco Goncalves (Angola), Middlesbrough's Mohammed Shawky (Egypt), Newcastle's Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye (both Senegal), Portsmouth's Sulley Muntari (Ghana), Bouba Papa Diop (Senegal) and Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Reading's Emerse Fae (Ivory Coast), Andre Bikey (Cameroon) and Ibrahima Sonko (Senegal), Sunderland's Dickson Etuhu (Nigeria) and West Ham's John Pantsil (Ghana) and Henri Camara (Senegal).

Mike Hytner / Eurosport