"?Burnley manager Sean Dyche has revealed that Jon Flanagan will miss the start of the Premier League season due to the defender's lack of playing time in Liverpool's pre-season, Burnley Express reports.
The 23-year-old recently joined the Clarets on a season-long loan from Liverpool to take Dyche's signings to three so far in the transfer window. But Flanagan's lack of playing time during the Reds' pre-season means the defender, according to Dyche, is not entirely ready to play.
It means he will miss Burnley's opener against Swansea City this coming weekend and with the following match being against Liverpool, the former Watford loanee will not be allowed to feature in the game.
But Dyche, who is preparing for his second season in the Premier League, insists he and his staff are doing their utmost to get the 23-year-old to match fitness as soon as possible.
"We'll see about next week, we'll do some testing over the next few days, but he hasn't played a lot of football so we'll make sure he's well enough to play rather than wondering. We'll test him,"? Dyche said.
"The initial period we think he's behind the curve fitness wise. He's only played three 45s, so we'll get him fit first.
"You know how we like to operate here, we're like to make sure the players are ready to play, rather than using the game to get them ready, so there'll be some work to be done, but he's a good character and he'll adapt to the squad very quickly.
"He played at the end of the season, played pre-season, we're happy with the reports from Liverpool and our own reports."?