Martin Paterson to be risked against Leicester?

Paterson is fit again after a hamstring problem ruled him out for three games, but he is being carefully managed to try and avoid suffering a recurrence.

He played for just over an hour in the 5-2 win at home to Peterborough on Saturday, with Howe eager to keep him fresh, but with a game at Derby to follow on Saturday, he admits he will have to weigh up whether to risk him at the King Power Stadium.

Howe said: “I think with Pato we’ve had to come with a plan to say we need to keep him fit and fresh.

“Looking back on the last game he played against Bolton I think it was 75 minutes where he just started feeling tired and weary, and we’ve got to protect him when he gets to that stage.

“Before we got to that time on Saturday we had to make a decision.

“Regardless of how the game was going we would have made the same decision because we’ve got to protect him and keep him fit for the long-term.

“We’ll speak to him and see how he feels, but we have to be careful with him, but we want to play him as well because you can see the impact he has on our results.

“There was no reaction after Saturday though, he’s getting stronger and stronger, and hopefully he can get a run of games.

“Not going away on international duty was the right call for him, and hopefullyl we can reap the benefits.”

Howe has no other fresh injury concerns, but he hopes to see the form of winger Junior Stanislas continue to blossom.

After scoring his first goal for the club in the 3-2 defeat at Middlesbrough, he added his second on Saturday, to go with a string of assists, and Howe said: “Junior was excellent, he scored a goal again which is great for him but his all-round game was really impressive so hopefully he can keep that up.

“A lack of goals was the big thing missing from his game last year - he had a good assists record - and his game has steadily improved.

“Goals for any winger are important, and if we can get eight to 10 from either side, it will help us no end.

“It’s great to see him getting into those positions, he’s getting into better areas this year, which are enabling him to score.”

Asked if it was one of his best performances in a Burnley shirt, he added: “Without a doubt for me.

“He was positive, showed his pace, he ran at people, asked questions, got crosses in, scored a goal.

“The thing with Junior is that we’ve seen that now for over a year.

“In training he’s been excellent at times, he hasn’t quite produced that on a consistent basis when he’s played.

“Hopefully this is the start now. He’s been excellent this season so far and hopefully this is the start of a more consistent run for him.”

Stanislas appeared more aggressive in his performance against Peterborough, and Howe added: “Technically and athletically I’d say he’s got the lot.

“I think consistency and finding that little ounce more aggression to really stamp his authority on games.

“He can do it, there’s no doubt he can do it.

“He’s still a young player and he’s still finding his feet at this level in terms of a consistent run of games.

“I think there’s more to come from him.

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