Burnley dealt double injury scare on the eve of 2026/27 season
Burnley dealt injury scares on eve of new season
Burnley have been dealt a couple of injury scares just over a week out from the start of the new season.
Both Connor Roberts and Jaydon Banel were missing from Burnley’s squad on Wednesday night for their 2-2 pre-season friendly draw against Espanyol.
Head coach Nicky Hayen confirmed to the Burnley Express after the game that both of their absences were due to injury.
He also suggested that Banel’s was more serious than the knock picked up by Roberts, although he declined to go into further details.
“They both have an injury,” he told the Burnley Express after last night’s game. “We will see.
“He [Banel] had a scan today [Wednesday], so we will have the result later today or tomorrow.
“Connor also has a small injury, but it will be okay. With Jaydon, we'll have to see.”
When it was put to Hayen that it sounds like Banel’s could be serious, the Burnley boss replied: “We'll see later on.”
It was only on Sunday that Banel enjoyed a scoring return to his former club Ajax, as the Clarets suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat in his home city of Amsterdam.
As for Roberts, figures at Burnley will be keeping their fingers crossed it’s nothing serious after the defender’s recent return from long-term injury.
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The defender missed the entirety of last season with an Achilles problem, before suffering subsequent groin and hamstring issues.
While he returned for Wales in June, he’s still yet to make a competitive appearance for Burnley since May 2025.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Jordan Beyer and Josh Cullen remain long-term absentees.