Dale Stephens and Kevin Long sidelined for Burnley’s opener with Brighton

Posted Friday, August 13, 2021 by PA

Burnley will be without Dale Stephens and Kevin Long when they open their Premier League campaign by hosting Brighton on Saturday.

Midfielder Stephens, a former Brighton player, and defender Long remain unavailable as they continue their recoveries following surgery.

Nick Pope and Phil Bardsley are fit again after knee and hernia operations respectively, and Sean Dyche’s matchday squad is also set to feature summer signings Nathan Collins and Wayne Hennessey.

Tariq Lamptey and Danny Welbeck are among five injured players unavailable for Brighton.

The pair, who have hamstring and thigh issues respectively, are joined on the sidelines by new goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen (ankle), defender Dan Burn and midfielder Moises Caicedo (both knee).

Zambia midfielder Enock Mwepu, signed from RB Salzburg for a reported £20million last month, could make his Premier League debut.

Burnley provisional squad: Pope, Hennessey, Norris, Lowton, Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee, Collins, Pieters, Bardsley, Thomas, Cork, Gudmundsson, Brownhill, McNeil, Westwood, Wood, Barnes, Rodriguez, Vydra, Richardson.

Brighton provisional squad: Sanchez, Steele, Veltman, Dunk, Webster, Duffy, Karbownik, Richards, Gross, Bissouma, Lallana, March, Alzate, Mwepu, Moder, Mac Allister, Trossard, Connolly, Maupay, Andone, Zeqiri, Tau.