First-team trio return from injury for Under-21s

A trio of Burnley players that have been out through injury made their returns for the Under-21s tonight.

Josh Cullen made his first outing in 10 months as he closes in on a comeback from a devastating ACL injury as the Clarets lost 3-1 to West Ham.

The club captain has been sidelined since suffering the issue during a goalless draw with Everton in December.

Jaydon Banel and Ashley Barnes also started - with all three players playing the first-half before coming off at half-time.

Banel, who hasn’t played so far this season after picking up an injury in pre-season, was perhaps the pick of the bunch, coming close to scoring on two occasions.

All three of West Ham’s goals came during the first-half, with two of them coming from the halfway line in a stormy, wind-affected Premier League 2 encounter.

Zach Johnson pulled a goal back for the Clarets from the penalty spot during the second-half.

Somewhat surprisingly, Burnley boss Nicky Hayen revealed Cullen could even be involved for the first-team at Lincoln City on Saturday should he come through unscathed.

“He's quite close,” he said during Thursday’s pre-match press conference. “So unfortunately he had a setback two weeks ago, because otherwise he would already be back.

“Now he will play tomorrow 45 minutes with the Under-21s and we'll see how that game goes and if he can make the squad selection for Saturday.”

As for Barnes, he’s been out injured since returning to the club for one final year and was subsequently left out of Burnley’s 25-man squad.