POPE FACING A LENGTHY SPELL ON SIDELINES

NICK POPE is expected to miss the first three months of the season as he needs surgery to repair his damaged shoulder. The Burnley goalkeeper, who was injured in Thursday’s Europa League tie at Aberdeen when colliding with team-mate James Tarkowski, yesterday went to visit a specialist, who said the dislocation needs to be corrected in surgery. The operation will take place before the end of the week. It is a devastating blow for Pope (right), whose outstanding form helped Burnley qualify for Europe and saw Gareth Southgate pick him for the World Cup. Burnley manager Sean Dyche said: ‘I’ve seen the stills and it is just a freak moment in a game. The shoulder came out and back in so it depends on the damage along the way.’ Previous No 1 Tom Heaton missed much of last season with an ankle injury and could not play last week due to a calf issue. Dyche is yet to decide if he will play in Thursday’s return leg.