Why Anass Zaroury missed Burnley's win against Cardiff City as James Trafford illness confirmed

Burnley were without not one, but two players against Cardiff City that featured in their season opener against Luton Town.

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Scott Parker's immediate reaction to Burnley's thrashing of Cardiff City in firs...

The 21-year-old was a noticeable absentee from Burnley’s starting XI having performed so well during the 4-1 win at Kenilworth Road on Monday night.

Anass Zaroury also featured during that game, albeit off the bench, but he was conspicuous by his absence on Saturday at Turf Moor.

Speaking after the game, Parker confirmed he too was feeling unwell.

“Both were ill, that’s the main reason why they weren’t involved,” Parker confirmed.

Trafford’s place in goal was taken by Vaclav Hladky, who enjoyed a strong debut with a clean sheet on his first Burnley outing.

LUTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12:  Anass Zaroury of Burnley controls the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Burnley FC at Kenilworth Road on August 12, 2024 in Luton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)placeholder image
LUTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 12: Anass Zaroury of Burnley controls the ball during the Sky Bet Championship match between Luton Town FC and Burnley FC at Kenilworth Road on August 12, 2024 in Luton, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Parker also handed a debut to Andreas Hountondji off the bench late on, having been an unused substitute during the season opener.

Sander Berge remains injured, although Parker did reveal before the Cardiff game that the midfielder was closing in on a return to training following his recovery from a quad injury.

On a more positive note, Johann Berg Gudmundsson made his comeback from a knock in scoring fashion, bagging Burnley’s fourth goal after replacing Vitinho off the bench.

Ameen Al-Dakhil, Jordan Beyer, Hjalmar Ekdal, Hannes Delcroix, Shurandy Sambo, Aaron Ramsey, Nathan Redmond, Mike Tresor and Michael Obafemi were all not involved at the weekend for a second game running.

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