Hjalmar Ekdal injury update provided after Burnley defender limps off against Brighton

The Swede had to be taken off in the 67th minute during Burnley’s 1-1 draw after requiring attention from the physios.

Ekdal, who was Burnley’s best performer on the day, was only playing for the eighth time this season, having not featured since the start of February.

Bellamy praised the defender’s efforts and doesn’t believe his knock is anything too serious.

“He was really good,” Bellamy said.

“He’s fine though. It’s just that he hasn’t played the games over the past few months, so I think that took its toll. The intensity of the game as well, due to how we wanted to press against a team like Brighton.

“We were very aggressive on the press so it took a lot of commitment, it took a lot of running levels, it took a lot of sprinting distances which you need against a team like Brighton.

“Hjalmar just suffered a little bit towards the end but it was inevitable to be honest. If he could have got through, it would have been incredible but he’s fine. It was just the sprinting he did in his legs and his lack of game time.”

In other injury news, Han-Noah Massengo was an unused substitute on his return from injury while James Trafford also returned to the bench after missing Burnley’s last two games through illness.

Dara O’Shea will return to selection for Burnley’s trip to Sheffield United next weekend after serving his one-match ban.