'Dodged a bullet': Burnley dealt hugely encouraging Armando Broja injury news ahead of Chelsea
Armando Broja’s injury scare is nowhere near as serious as first feared and the striker could even be fit to face his former club Chelsea.
Burnley were concerned the 24-year-old could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines after being stretchered off in tears during Albania’s World Cup qualifier against England.
Broja, who has a history of ankle problems, clutched the bottom of his leg after turning awkwardly during the final stages of the game.
But providing an update on Broja ahead of Saturday’s game against Chelsea, Scott Parker believes Burnley have managed to “dodge a bullet”.
“He's okay,” the Clarets boss said.
“It's not as bad as certainly how it looked or it was when I was watching it and it looks that it's fine really.
“I'm hoping that Armando will be available for the weekend, so everything that's come back seems really positive.
“He was on the grass yesterday [Wednesday], he's on the grass today. We'll see how he reacts tomorrow, but at this present moment in time, it's looking good.”
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While Broja has yet to start a league game for the Clarets, a lengthy absence would have really stretched Parker’s squad with Lyle Foster set to depart for the African Cup of Nations next month.
But thankfully the striker, who has been beset by injury problems in recent years, has received some welcome positive news.
Parker added: “It was his ankle. I think maybe the mechanism of the injury, I think maybe there was an element of shock for him and obviously a bit of fear there because it looked like he rolled the ankle and felt it was on an ankle that he's previously done as well.
“I'm sure there was an element of: ‘oh, I've done something serious here’. But while there was initial pain, it seems to have settled down really, really quickly.
“There's an injury there, but it's very, very, very minor and it looks like we've maybe dodged a bullet.”
Elsewhere, Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and Zeki Amdouni all remain sidelined, but Quilindschy Hartman should be available this weekend despite withdrawing from the Netherlands squad during the international break.
“He'd come away with a little bit of an illness, so I think the national team decided it was probably best to send him back,” he added.
“He came back the first day and he was still ill. But he's been up and training with us since then. He's over that and he's back with us.”
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