Premier League: Burnley's Matthew Taylor to undergo minor Achilles operation
Thursday 16 October 2014 16:30, UK
Burnley midfielder Matthew Taylor will miss this weekend's game against his former club West Ham because he needs an Achilles operation.
The 32-year-old, who swapped Upton Park for Turf Moor in the summer, has not featured for the Clarets since the goalless draw with Manchester United at the end of August.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche said: "Matty Taylor unfortunately is going to have to have a minor operation. He's got a niggle in his Achilles and unfortunately it just hasn't settled down.
"It's nothing too serious in the grand scheme of things, it's a small bony area at the back which is irritating his Achilles."
On a positive note, striker Danny Ings, midfielder Dave Jones and loan duo Nathaniel Chalobah and Michael Keane should definitely be involved in Saturday's game, while defender Kieran Tripper and midfielder Dean Marney are also in contention.
Burnley claimed a morale-boosting point against Leicester last time out thanks to Ross Wallace's injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.
Dyche is determined to hold true to his football philosophy despite Burnley's testing start to the season, adding: "There are never any guarantees. Good, bad or indifferent you just work hard to push the odds in your favour.
"There's a lot of good things going on here; new pitches, changes, planning. That has to be paid for but, alongside that, we want a team that can be competitive.
"The margins are tight, I think we're very close to what we want, which is winning games. We've been in every game apart from one.
"Saturday is another great challenge. We've got three out of four at home now and we're looking forward to those games for us, for the club and for the town."
