MX23RW : Thursday, January 16 16:23:08| >> :600:1123621:1123621:

Danny Drinkwater returns to Chelsea after Burnley loan spell

Danny Drinkwater returns to Chelsea after Burnley loan spell
© Reuters
The England international was injured in a Manchester nightclub incident during his time at Turf Moor.

Danny Drinkwater's loan spell at Burnley has ended after just two appearances for the club.

England midfielder Drinkwater joined the Clarets in August after making only five league starts for Chelsea following a £35million move from Leicester in 2017.

But Drinkwater, who was sidelined for nearly three months after an incident outside a Manchester nightclub in September left him with an ankle injury, departs Turf Moor having played less than two and a half hours of football.

Drinkwater managed just 59 minutes in the Premier League, in the 4-1 home defeat to Manchester City last month, after playing in the Carabao Cup defeat to Sunderland in August.

"He just hasn't had the pitch-time," said Burnley manager Sean Dyche, confirming that Drinkwater will return to Chelsea when his loan deal expires on Monday.

"Obviously there was a moment in between when we had injuries where he probably would have played, but these things happen in football."

Dyche said the nightclub incident had prevented Drinkwater from making his mark in Lancashire.

"He's been a credit to himself with the way his professionalism has been, other than the incident," Dyche said before the FA Cup tie with Peterborough.

"The way he's recovered from that, the way he's looked after himself, he's tried to be part of the group.

"We just haven't got him as much game-time as what he wanted, and what he needs as well.

"But I like him a lot, I like him as a player and a character and I wish him well.

"The incident was unfortunate, it cost us a lot more time than we thought – us and him, of course – and in that time we got reasonably good value from the team with points on the board."

Dyche, meanwhile, has defended centre-back Ben Mee over the tackle which saw Aston Villa lose striker Wesley for the rest of the season.

The Brazilian suffered a serious knee injury in Villa's 2-1 win at Burnley on Wednesday following a second-half challenge from Mee.

"I think the player, after it all calmed down, actually said: 'Yeah, this is football, this is the way it goes,'" Dyche added.

"There was no question of anything other, and nor should there be. It was a simple case really, with arguably one of the country's best referees (Michael Oliver).

"He gives a goal-kick, VAR gives nothing. It's just a very unfortunate incident.

"I don't think anything would be asked if the outcome was not someone getting injured.

"That's truth of it, and that's the way it should be viewed.

"Most people in football would be saying if there was no injury: 'Good covering, really good defending'. It was just an honest player doing a really good job."

Dyche confirmed he will be making changes against Peterborough, their cup opponents from Sky Bet League One, on Saturday.

He said: "I expect a performance as I always do. Our preparation has been as good as for anyone. We want to win the game."

body check tags ::

Click here for more stories about Danny Drinkwater

Click here for more stories about Burnley

Share this article now:
New Instagram promo
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring their second goal on January 1, 2020
Read Next:
PL Team of the Week - Van Dijk, Jesus, Pepe
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.

Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool21201050143661
2Manchester CityMan City22152562253747
3Leicester CityLeicester22143547212645
4Chelsea22123739291039
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd2297636251134
6Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd228862421332
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2271053128331
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs228683631530
9Crystal Palace227872024-429
10Arsenal2261062931-228
11Everton2284102532-728
12Southampton2284102739-1228
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2275102134-1326
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2266102530-524
15Burnley2273122437-1324
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2164112533-822
17Watford2257102034-1422
18Aston Villa2263132843-1521
19Bournemouth2255122035-1520
20Norwich CityNorwich2235142245-2314

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Ultra close-up image of Kevin De Bruyne [NOT FOR USE IN ARTICLES]Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!