Hi All.

Starting to lose track of all our sickness progression or lack of it, from on the grass to touch and go, to rumoured not to being injured at all and was going to be off. So now the window is shut, do we know exactly when we can expect to have our lot back?

Wood could play at Southampton
Brady & Vydra will play for U23s v Cardiff on Monday
Defour - some time yet
Heaton - no info
Pope - months away

What exactly has Defour done? It's more or less a full month since we went to Cork (when he picked up this injury).

He did reply to someone on Twitter that he would be back 'soon' though.

Why is Vydra not in the squad for the Southampton game?

Not fit enough

He hasn't said anything on Twitter defour.. just hope we can get him back soonish..whats the injury?

Thanks CT.

Defour was going up and down the steps in JHU at the Aberdeen game fine and no signs of strapping from what I could see. But I'm sure he would be in the team if there was no issues. I can only presume after him spending time with the Belgium physio team and the returning early after the break to get his fitness up, that there has been another issue.

Just hope its not a serious set back

As good a player as Defour is think when his contract runs out at the end of the season it's time to say goodbye unfortunately. With our squad size we just can't afford to carry someone with his fitness record, and as he gets older it will only get worse.

Defour has been out a long time, and it's a long season. He needs to be not just injury free but fit enough, which given his calf set back will mean another month at a guess. I just really hope that when he gets back we stays back, because we need him.

Tom Heaton is fit, will be interesting to see who plays Sunday - Heaton or Hart.

UTC

Haven't heard Heatons fit, must have missed that. Where is this posted?

Heaton and Pope are no longer emergencies as I think Hart will be more than a good enough stand in. Wood having a bite isn't an injury as such, as once it's cleared up he should be fine. If Brady and Vydra are back soonish, then it'll just leave Defour who will be a big miss. Hopefully in 2-3 games time, the injury list won't look as alarming.

ElectroClaret wrote:Haven't heard Heatons fit, must have missed that. Where is this posted?

Tom Heaton is available, while fellow goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard is a doubt after sustaining an injury in training in Istanbul.

https://www.burnleyfootballclub.com/new ... to-dig-in/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ElectroClaret wrote:Haven't heard Heatons fit, must have missed that. Where is this posted?

Heaton interview on Sky Sports said he was hoping to be selected for Sunday

Cheers.

Heaton has been fit for a while according to some. Fell out with Dyche after being promised the last 4 games of the season to boost his England chances.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Heaton has been fit for a while according to some. Fell out with Dyche after being promised the last 4 games of the season to boost his England chances.

This sound like that “Mee won’t sign a contract cos he’s fallen out with Tarky” ******** we had on here a few weeks ago.

Quickenthetempo wrote:Heaton has been fit for a while according to some. Fell out with Dyche after being promised the last 4 games of the season to boost his England chances.

If you can believe SD ever makes promises like that then you’ve not been paying attention for the last six years

ClaretTony wrote:Wood could play at Southampton
Brady & Vydra will play for U23s v Cardiff on Monday
Defour - some time yet
Heaton - no info
Pope - months away

Dyche has said heaton is fit for sunday so has a decision to make

Concerning that sean has said in that link that we will have to dig in for a few weeks because of injuries. I am sure we will but the squad is too bare anyway.

We should know how SD operates by now. More often than not, it's the player's shirt to lose. I expect Hart will play.

agreenwood wrote:This sound like that “Mee won’t sign a contract cos he’s fallen out with Tarky” ******** we had on here a few weeks ago.

Maybe. It was a tweet from a local trainer at crow wood who works for radio lancs.

I think Heaton will start on Sunday with Hart given the Europa League, haven't seen it mentioned anywhere but Tom is banned for 30 days from playing in the Europa League because we asked to replace him with Ledzgins against Aberdeen.

FactualFrank wrote:We should know how SD operates by now. More often than not, it's the player's shirt to lose. I expect Hart will play.

Will be interesting to see if there is rotation: Hart Europa, Heaton Premier League? If Thursday in Istanbul and Sunday in Southampton can disrupt sleep patterns, maybe a keeper's concentration will be more at risk than an outfield player?

Good to know that Tom is fit again.

What did Lindergard do? And, would Joe Hart have started if Anders was fit?

UTC

jrgbfc wrote:As good a player as Defour is think when his contract runs out at the end of the season it's time to say goodbye unfortunately. With our squad size we just can't afford to carry someone with his fitness record, and as he gets older it will only get worse.

Hi jrgbfc, really? We write off our most skilled player because he's picked up some injuries? Agree, Defour's career has been set back a number of times with injuries - he wouldn't have come to Burnley if this wasn't the case. But, if Steven Defour wants to extend his stay - and the terms are right for the club (and, why wouldn't they be)? then I'd want to see Defour continue with us.

UTC

If he can get fit by September/October and we get pretty much a full season out of him then he's definitely worth keeping. But looking at his previous track record with injuries I'd say that's extremely unlikely, especially as he's had no pre season whatsoever. Can we really afford to pay someone good money in a key position on the off chance they're gonna be fit?

Paul Waine wrote:Will be interesting to see if there is rotation: Hart Europa, Heaton Premier League?

Possibly. There's always that. I guess from a manager's POV it's also a good way to keep both happy knowing they'll be playing. For now, at least.

jrgbfc wrote:If he can get fit by September/October and we get pretty much a full season out of him then he's definitely worth keeping. But looking at his previous track record with injuries I'd say that's extremely unlikely, especially as he's had no pre season whatsoever. Can we really afford to pay someone good money in a key position on the off chance they're gonna be fit?

That's why I say "terms are right for the club." If Steven Defour is carrying the risk of repeat injuries, then I'd expect wages offered by Burnley or any other club to take this into account.

Hope we see him back soon as a 90 minutes star player.

UTC

summitclaret wrote:Concerning that sean has said in that link that we will have to dig in for a few weeks because of injuries. I am sure we will but the squad is too bare anyway.

See this is what worries me when we have just had a transfer window open and enough time to plan since last Christmas

The Defour situation is a real concern. Without a proper preseason he struggles with fitness. Even when over his injury I think it will take a while before he can get back to the performance levels we saw in the first half of last season when he was instrumental in our strong run. Once he got his injury our form dropped off and we struggled to create. Evidence of the three competitive matches we’ve played so far is that we still lack creativity. I expect us to be solid but think this will be a much tougher season than last, especially with two of the three promoted teams investing heavily.

Our experience of Defour should tell us that he is a 25 game a season man (injuries and recuperation take their toll) if we can maximise that contribution then we have a wonderful asset and the opportunity to develop others in the role with his assistance at Gawthorpe. This of course requires rotation not a massive part of our recent experience but something we will have to incorporate should we progress in cups. SD for all his liking of settled sides has regularly talked about monitoring peoples numbers from a performance and health perspective and we have not got a situation where we have sufficient depth in many areas where rotation can be employed. Ben Mee is another where we are going to have to do this in coming seasons.

'Our experience of Defour should tell us that he is a 25 game a season man'

I don't think he's managed anywhere remotely near 50 games for us has he? Not off to the best of starts this campaign either.

Don't think we'll see Defour before October.

Silkyskills1 wrote:'Our experience of Defour should tell us that he is a 25 game a season man'

I don't think he's managed anywhere remotely near 50 games for us has he? Not off to the best of starts this campaign either.

should have added "at best" - but if he was given proper rest time and not played mid-week then he could achieve 25

Fair enough. I'd more than settle for that but it just seems increasingly unlikely that he will feature in the first team anytime in the near future.

Really looking forward to seeing Brady at his best , last few games before his injury our football was a joy to watch

Ooogeorgeorgeoghani wrote:Really looking forward to seeing Brady at his best , last few games before his injury our football was a joy to watch

Agreed

Our home games are when we'll miss Defour,against the lower level teams who will sit deep and play counter-attack tactics,he can create something in the tight games,that will turn potential draws into wins,vital for a club like ours.

We do have a big decision to make at the end of this season whether to commit to another year for Stephen,ATM i'd be wary of triggering his extension purely on the amount of minutes he can contribute on the park.

claretandy wrote:I think Heaton will start on Sunday with Hart given the Europa League, haven't seen it mentioned anywhere but Tom is banned for 30 days from playing in the Europa League because we asked to replace him with Ledzgins against Aberdeen.

I’m sorry, what? Banned for 30days?

Foulthrow wrote:I’m sorry, what? Banned for 30days?

My mate asked me if we'd had an illegible player but I too heard nothing about it.

Foulthrow wrote:I’m sorry, what? Banned for 30days?

Listen to Dyches interview "Tom wasn't available due to Uefa rules"

It was part of the stipulation to replace him with Ledzgins against Aberdeen, in hindsight, Heaton should have sat on the bench with the minor calf injury he had.

FactualFrank wrote:My mate asked me if we'd had an illegible player but I too heard nothing about it.

Your mate must be a bit difficult to read.

Physio Room tweeted that Wood is available again today and that Vydra is still building his fitness and will play with the U23's midweek.

taio wrote:Your mate must be a bit difficult to read.

*ineligible

Predictive text. Although he's a Leeds fan, so the former might be more appropriate.

According to Dyche yesterday Brady isn’t ready to play in the U-23 game today. More worryingly he’s said Defour won’t be fit for “a number of weeks”.

Considering Defour’s lack of a preseason, we’re going to be lucky to see him this side of Christmas at this rate.

I think we have to crack on as if Defour doesn't even exist. If he ever manages to achieve a clean
bill of health and return to full fitness (whatever that is for him) then we can consider that
to be a bonus.

In the meantime, he is sadly out of the frame and not to be relied upon, which is no fault of his own.

Agreed. It’s not just the getting back on grass and then getting match fit in the U23s. It’s then playing enough to find some form.

That’s a process of months.

Anybody know exactly what is wrong with Defour?