McCann has made 170 appearances for Burnley

Burnley manager Brian Laws has said he will be guided by recommendations from a specialist before deciding when Chris McCann will return to full training.

McCann, who has had two separate operations on his knee in the past year, suffered another injury during the club's recent tour of Singapore.

"We're looking at Chris closely because he's had a long time out of football," Laws told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"He was having a good pre-season and was looking fit and determined."

606: DEBATE I am very worried by the non-involvement of Chris McCann howardclaret

McCann was ruled out for three months in September after injuring his knee in a challenge with Sunderland's Michael Turner.

The 23-year-old will definitely miss Burnley's opening Championship game at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but Laws is cautiously optimistic the club will receive more positive news.

"The fact he came back with a little niggle is frustrating for the player and for ourselves," he said. "But we're getting the injury assessed as quickly as possible.

Maybe there's just a little infusion which is causing the problem, but we can't put our finger on it until the specialist has a look at the scans Brian Laws on Chris McCann

"There's no chance for him on Saturday, but let's see what the outcome is next week when we see the specialist just to make sure he's happy with everything.

"He had a little tear on his cartilage at the end of the season and we had that cleaned up and he was fine until this injury.

"Maybe there's just a little infusion which is causing the problem, but we can't put our finger on it until the specialist has a look at the scans."

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