Burnley boss Sean Dyche says their injury problems are the worst he's seen at Turf Moor.
Dyche, the Premier League's longest serving manager, has often been short on resources at Turf Moor but the reality of football in a pandemic has added new challenges.
“It's certainly been the toughest long period," Dyche said. “We've had pockets that have been tough with injuries – the start of the Europa (League) season (in 2018) was very difficult with injuries and having smaller numbers, not getting the heavy investment on numbers we needed.
“It's similar but different this time. We've lost players rather than gained players on the recruitment side of things.
“After lockdown we had injuries. By the time the next season starts you imagine they'd be fit and ready but it turns out they weren't and once we got them back we started getting other injuries.
“I've been here a long time and I know how we work, the analysis we do on the work we do and the training. I'm reasonably happy with that so it's hard to look beyond the schedule.
“We've played a lot of games, often at strange times and a different format. It's not a gripe or a moan, it's just a reality."
