ASHLEY Barnes is not expecting to play at all this season, but hasn’t ruled it out completely.

The striker is currently sidelined after suffering cruciate and medial knee ligament damage in May.

It is an injury that is set to write off the whole of the 2015/16 campaign.

But Barnes admits the prospect of helping Burnley return to the Premier League is acting as a huge incentive to come back ahead of schedule.

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The 25-year-old arrived at Turf Moor from Brighton midway through the 2013/14 campaign and went on to help the Clarets clinch second spot, with one of his three goals coming in the 2-0 Easter Monday win over Wigan Athletic which guaranteed an automatic promotion spot.

He had an impact in the Premier League too, securing wins over Hull City and Southampton and a point away to Manchester City with three of his five top flight goals.

But on top of the disappointment of relegation, the campaign ended in personal disaster as Barnes became Burnley’s fourth cruciate casualty in just over a year, with Sam Vokes the first in March 2014.

Lukas Jutkiewicz has since become the fifth in 18 months, after he was injured in the Clarets’ last game at Bristol City, leaving manager Sean Dyche with just four strikers.

With Kevin Long and Dean Marney closing in on first team returns, Barnes believes they are in good hands with the Burnley medical team.

And the striker admits he would love to play his part in another promotion push.

He said: “Rehab is going really well. There’s obviously a long road to recovery, but hopefully I’m on the straight and narrow now.

“The first thing you need to get your head around is that you’re out for the season basically.

“You’ve got to write it off, and anything else is a bonus for me.

“I’ve looked to those lads who have gone through it to talk through things. Now you see them getting back and doing really well.

“I’m on the road to recovery. Hopefully me and Juke can get through this together as a pair like Deano and Longy have.

“Hopefully we’ll be back before the end of the season and hopefully I can help the team in some way to get promoted.”

But if not Barnes is prepared to do his bit from the stands.

“It’s hard to watch games,” he said.

“You can only offer advice and try to help the team from watching from the sidelines and going into the changing room at half-time and try to talk them through what you’re seeing on the pitch.”

Barnes admitted he had empathy and sympathy for team-mate Jutkiewicz, particularly with the timing of his injury at the start of a new campaign, but said a positive outlook was important.

“You’ve got to smile to get through things,” he said.

“As soon as you let it get on top of you then when it gets the beating of you. You’ve got to stay strong.

“Unfortunately for Juke he has had a tough pre-season and was doing well.

“To play the first few games then something like that hits you, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time for him.

“Going through a whole pre-season then to do it at the start of the season will be a kick in the teeth. But there’s never a good time for things like that to happen.

“Hopefully we won’t get something like that again.”