'Down in the dumps' Connor Roberts thought his first season for Burnley was a write-off after contracting pneumonia!

The 26-year-old was rushed in for treatment in the days that followed his top flight debut for the Clarets.

Roberts had replaced Matt Lowton in the final quarter-of-an-hour in the 1-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United at St James's Park.

And the Welshman, who also featured against Spurs in the Carabao Cup in October, had resigned himself to the fact that his first Premier League appearance for Sean Dyche's side might've been his last.

“I don’t think people know how ill I was," he said.

“I had headaches, I was freezing cold and I was in a bit of a pickle to be honest.

“I went to the doctor in Wilmslow and from there I was rushed to hospital and at first they couldn’t work out what was wrong with me.

“The doctors and nurses told me that my blood count was not as it should be and that it was very strange to see that in an athlete as fit as me.

“I had already had Covid and I knew what that felt like and I knew it wasn’t that."

The defender's absence around mid-December had initially been put down to a mystery infection while fiancée Georgina Marcella confirmed on social media that Roberts had been admitted as a matter of emergency with a non-Covid related illness.

After days of examinations and uncertainty, it transpired that the former Swansea City full back was suffering with pneumonia.

It was devastating news for the ex-Yeovil Town loanee, who admitted that circumstances prior to his switch from the Liberty Stadium had already clouded his mood.

Roberts was 'down in the dumps' and in dire straits having arrived with a groin injury, sustained during Wales' Euro 2020 defeat to Denmark at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

"I thought this season would be a write-off," Roberts declared.

“I spent two days in hospital having chest and heart scans before they discovered I had pneumonia.

“Put it this way, I’ve been on this earth for 26 years and I’ve never felt the way I did when I got pneumonia.

"My fiancee Georgina was incredible through it all. She's eight months pregnant but since we came here it's not been about her, bless her. I've been injured and down in the dumps so she was brilliant and wanted to see me happy and playing football."

Roberts, however, made a remarkable recovery. He was handed his first league start for the club against Arsenal at the Emirates last month and has since finished unbeaten in three games, adding a couple of clean sheets.

He's expected to make his fourth start when Liverpool come to Turf Moor on Sunday. He concluded: "The first six or seven months I've been here I've not really been myself but the more I play the more I can be myself and have a laugh and show people what I really am like and people can get to know me.

"I just wanted to get back because before playing these last three games, Burnley fans probably thought what's he all about? He's either injured or ill and he's never going to play.

"Before this season I'd never missed a game through injury or anything really so I just kept thinking what are people thinking about me? So it's nice to get back from that.

“I’ve had more scans since and I’m all clear now I’m glad to say - there are no on-going issues thank goodness."