Burnley boss Vincent Kompany says playing the waiting game with his walking wounded is for the greater good

The Championship leaders have been dealt several setbacks this season with a number of key stars being forced out through injury.

England Under 21s captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been absent with a foot injury since the FA Cup tie at Bournemouth at the start of the calendar year.

Manuel Benson has now missed five fixtures, also with a foot injury, which he sustained in the 2-1 win at home to West Brom last month.

Jay Rodriguez has also been sidelined since victory over the Baggies at Turf Moor and defender Jordan Beyer missed away games against Luton Town and Millwall.

Asked if there was any positive news to report on the injury front, Kompany told the Burnley Express: "I hope so.

"It might be a case where they're all back at once, but it's day by day. It's not like I can fault anyone; Benny got a nasty kick and he's been out since, but we hope to get him back soon. Jay Rod has been a little bit of an ongoing concern and we hope to have him back soon."

While Manchester City starlet Harwood-Bellis is a longer-term absentee, with the international break said to be a realistic aim for his return, the remaining trio are believed to be making steady progress.

Borussia Monchengladbach centre-half Beyer suffered a recurrence of a muscular issue, which ruled him out of games against Birmingham City and Sunderland in October, so could be back in contention by the end of the month, should the torn fibre heal without complication as it did previously.

However, the 22-year-old won't be thrown into action until fully recovered, with Kompany looking at the bigger picture.

He said: "We won't rush them. We've got to think about the 13 games we've got left so if everybody's fit for the last eight games of the season they're still very valuable to us.

"We're not going to rush them. The worst thing we could do now is lose them for longer and not have them for the last 10 games of the season."

The three-time Sky Bet Manager of the Month also offered reassurance that Ian Maatsen's withdrawal was nothing to be worried about.

The Chelsea loan star was replaced by Charlie Taylor in the 83rd minute of Burnley's 1-1 draw against Millwall at The Den.

But it was just a tactical tweak, as Kompany said: “No, Ian is fine. We just tried to get some fresh bodies out on the pitch.”