BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche says Stephen Ward and Matt Taylor will not be ready to return from injury in time to face Sunderland next weekend.

Ward had been a regular at left back before fracturing his ankle at the start of December, while Taylor has not featured since August after requiring Achilles surgery.

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Lukas Jutkiewicz is set for a swift return to action after missing the last two matches with a cut foot, but Dyche admitted that the Clarets’ next match at Sunderland on January 31 would come too soon for Ward and Taylor.

“I think two weeks will be pushing it still,” he said.

“But the rest of the group are fit and well, so we’re happy with the fitness of the group.

“Juke will be available, he got a cut on his foot and it was just that it would open up, the crease on his foot.

“We’re sure that will be right.”

Dyche is hoping to add to his squad before the transfer window closes at 11pm on February 2, although insisted Saturday’s home loss to Crystal Palace would not increase the urge to bring in players.

He was still not sure whether he would have any new signings on board before the match at fellow relegation battlers Sunderland.

“We’ll see,” he said.

“The Crystal Palace result doesn’t change the situation, you’ve still got to align players that fit the model of the club.

“It doesn't miraculously mean that we've got more money because we lost and we can miraculously align more players.

“It's always going on, it's just who we can align, who fits the model of the club financially, who fits the team model and how we can use that wisely.

“But that's been going on for month after month.”

The club have denied further reports linking them with a move for AC Milan’s Giampaolo Pazzini - insisting that Dyche did not travel to Italy to watch the striker on Sunday, as had been suggested.

Burnley now have a blank weekend because of their recent FA Cup exit and the manager will give his players some time off, while making sure that preparations for the Sunderland game are still spot on.

“We'll just be training, working, getting ready for the next one, they're all the things that count,” he said.

“We'll try to give the players a bit of balance so there will be a bit of down time at the weekend as well as training of course.

“That's appropriate but we’re analysing the last game and making sense of it, ready to move forward again.”