Burnley's Jonathan Walters Ruled Out Until 'at Least' Christmas After Recurring Knee Trouble

Burnley forward Jonathan Walters has reportedly been ruled out of action until 'at least' Christmas as he continues to struggle with knee trouble.

Walters has only played 27 minutes of Premier League action for the Clarets since joining from Stoke in the summer and hasn't featured in any competition since 23rd August. He was last named in a match day squad on 16th September and is now in line to miss 10 further weeks.

According to Sky Sports, 34-year-old Walters is undergoing 'rehab work' at Burnley and is currently unable to train due to a recurring knee problem.

Nathan Stirk/GettyImages

He has already had two knee operations to 'clean up' the area in the last 18 months alone.

Burnley have coped well without the veteran star, rising to sixth in the Premier League table after losing just once in seven games to kick off the 2017/18 campaign.

But Walters' enforced absence is still likely to be a significant blow for club, as well as country. He will be missing from the Republic of Ireland's two-legged World Cup playoff next month against an as yet undetermined opponent.

Walters was unable to take part in the decisive win against Wales this week that saw Ireland reach the playoff round, but he has established history on a similar stage after scoring twice in a playoff against Bosnia & Herzegovina two years ago that help send Ireland to Euro 2016.

Burnley's next four Premier League games in the coming weeks are against West Ham (H), Manchester City (A), Newcastle (H) and Southampton (A).