Injury latest ahead of Burnley’s trip to Chelsea

Burnley will make a late check on full back Phil Bardsley ahead of Monday night’s trip to Chelsea.
Phil BardsleyPhil Bardsley
Phil Bardsley

Bardsley has missed the last two games with stitches in a gash suffered in a training ground accident involving a table tennis table.

Matt Lowton, who hadn’t started since Boxing Day, has slotted straight back in at right back, in the wins over Bournemouth and Cardiff City.

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Boss Sean Dyche said: “We’re waiting on Bardo, who had the accident and a gash that needed stitching.

“We’ll make a decision on that over the next couple of days.

“Other than that, there’s a few aches and pains.”

Aaron Lennon, Steven Defour and Peter Crouch remain unavailable, though Lennon could feature before the end of the season: “Aaron Lennon’s doing well, not there yet but more and more active on the grass.

“Crouchy is back on the move but not quite there yet.

“And Steven Defour is making good progress.

“He’s not going to be right for this season but he’s in a good place.

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“He’s had a lot to take in this season but he's handled it well.”

Dyche knows the job is not mathematically done yet, with Cardiff’s win at Brighton on Tuesday night.

The Clarets are eight clear of the drop zone with 12 to play for, and he said, of the Bluebirds keeping their hopes alive: “It's not a reminder for me, I said last week when we beat Cardiff, no no no, it's never done till it's done.

“I've reminded the players this week, they know that.

“We've had to earn the right, year on year, to do what we've done and we continue to do so.

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“We've got four really important games, tough games, coming up but so have others - it's that time of the season.

“There's very few that have got what you'd call an easy game.

“There is no such thing as an easy game in the Premier League by the way but we all look on paper and wonder - Fulham last week had a great result against Everton and a very good performance I'm told.

“There's lots to be played for and we've got to continue playing hard to get what we want.”

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Burnley go to Stamford Bridge on the back of three-successive wins, but Dyche knows that guarantees you nothing: “There's a lot of people who want to fill you with positives about the stats and the facts and the history but you've got to do it.

“It's not done till it's done but a very good run of three wins, very important wins for different reasons, and good performances that backed up them wins.”