Scott Parker welcomes Lyle Foster Burnley return and issues Jeremy Sarmiento update
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The striker came off the bench during the Boxing Day win against Sheffield United to make his first Clarets appearance in almost three months.
Given Burnley’s relative lack of options in the final third, Parker is delighted to have more depth at his disposal – especially with another game around the corner on Sunday with the trip to Middlesbrough.
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Hide AdFollowing on from that, the Clarets host Stoke City on New Year’s Day before making the short trip to Ewood Park for the derby just three days later.
“It’s very key for us,” Parker said of Foster’s return, following his recovery from a knee injury he picked up while away on international duty with South Africa.
“We’ve been struggling with injuries over the last few months and we have a lot of attacking players missing in particular, so I’m pleased to have Lyle back and give him some minutes.
“He brings a different quality to the strikers we have already. He’s a different profile to what Zian [Flemming] is, as well as Andreas [Hountondji] and Jay Rod.
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“We’ve seen Lyle’s quality. I’ve been here for three or four months but he started the season very well and we now need to get him right back up to speed.
“He’s been out for some time but he’s had some good training with us, so we will get him up to speed to give us that extra bit of depth which we’ve needed.
“Whether it’s off the bench or starting, it gives us options.”
Parker named an unchanged side for Thursday’s victory against the league leaders as Burnley cut the gap at the top to just one point at the halfway stage.
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Hide AdThat meant Jeremy Sarmiento was missing for a second consecutive game after the loanee picked up an issue during the recent trip to Norwich.
“He’s not too far away,” Parker assured. “We’re hoping he will be available for the weekend.”
Elsewhere, Jordan Beyer, Aaron Ramsey, Enock Agyei, Manuel Benson, Nathan Redmond and Mike Tresor all remain sidelined.
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