Hearts' Bobby Burns facing coronavirus tests as he scrambles for flight home from Australia

Hearts defender Bobby Burns faces an arduous journey home from Australia.

Hearts defender Bobby Burns is facing coronavirus tests and self-isolation as he battles to leave Australia and return home to Belfast.

The player must undergo stringent testing for the virus in order to get back to his family after his loan at Newcastle Jets was cut short.

The Hyundai A-League was suspended on Monday due to the global pandemic with no indication of when it will restart.

Burns and his Jets team-mate Wes Hoolahan are now frantically trying to arrange flights out of Australia to head back to Ireland. They face a series of medical examinations before they will be allowed to board any aircraft and must go into isolation as soon as they arrive home.

Newcastle officials agreed to let Burns leave despite his season-long loan from Hearts running until the scheduled end of the A-League campaign next month.

The 20-year-old is grateful for their understanding but told the Evening News he is struggling to get a flight out of Australia. When he does, the journey home will be even longer than the normal 22 hours.

"The club have been great with me. Wes and I are flying home as soon as possible to Ireland and then I will be back to Hearts when I can. It's a sad way to finish here but it's for the best," said Burns.

"I'm finding it so hard to get a flight. I need to do a coronavirus test before some countries will let me fly. There are hardly any flights, plus stopovers are like ten-hour breaks. Then I'll have to isolate when I'm home so it's all a bit mad.

"I'm just hoping I get home as flights are being cancelled all over the place."

Burns is due to return to Riccarton this summer and is keen to establish himself as a first-team regular during the final year of his Hearts contract.

He joined Newcastle Jets last August to get regular first-team football but remains focused on making an impact at Tynecastle Park.