Drinkwater to hold talks with Dyche after injury in assault outside nightclub
Danny Drinkwater will meet with Burnley manager Sean Dyche today as the club decide whether to fine the midfielder over the circumstances leading to his assault in a late-night incident in Manchester.
Drinkwater is expected to miss up to three weeks after suffering an injury during a row on a night out last week. The Sun reported that Drinkwater was targeted outside Manchester’s Chinawhite club early last Sunday after a row over another footballer’s girlfriend.
Sources close to the player claim the incident was not as bad as first thought and that Drinkwater should not miss more than three weeks. But Dyche will want a personal explanation of what happened when Drinkwater returns to the club for treatment today.
Drinkwater is on loan at Burnley from Chelsea and the parent club will allow them to deal with the incident and decide on any punishment.
Burnley are yet to decide whether Drinkwater will be fined and will wait to find out the account of the 29-year-old, whose career has plummeted since he won the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2016.
Drinkwater is believed to be remorseful for putting himself in a position to attract more controversy and is eager to kick-start his career once fit again.
But this latest incident is another serious blow, as Drinkwater attempts to put a series of disappointments behind him.
He did not play a single minute of competitive football last season as he was ignored by former Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri. And he was banned from driving in May after crashing into a wall while twice the legal limit.
Frank Lampard, the Chelsea head coach, gave Drinkwater a chance to impress him in preseason, but the former England international failed to do so and was allowed to join Burnley on loan.
He played in the Carabao Cup defeat against Sunderland before being injured during last week’s assault.