Young Burnley striker McCartan ruled out of U21 Euro qualifiers

The Clarets striker suffered the setback at an international training camp earlier this week and is now likely to be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

And that means McCartan, who this summer signed a new 12-month deal with the Clarets, will now miss Northern Ireland’s qualifying games against Czech Republic, Greece and Moldova next month.

Clarets boss Eddie Howe said: “It’s a real shame for Shay. He was away with Northern Ireland for a few days and tweaked his knee.

“It’s a ligament injury but thankfully he has been lucky and won’t need an operation, but he will be out for around eight weeks and it’s a blow.

“However, he’s in good hands with Ally and our medial team and we look forward to seeing him in action again soon.”