SAM Vokes scored in his first appearance in a Burnley shirt for eight months as he made his comeback from the serious knee injury that has ruled him out since March.

Vokes started for the Clarets’ development squad as they beat Carlisle 2-0 yesterday, and the Welsh international striker found the back of the net during his 45 minute outing.

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He was withdrawn at half time but Sean Dyche was pleased to see him come through his first step on the road back to the first team unscathed.

Vokes suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the Clarets 2-0 defeat to Leicester at Turf Moor on March 29.

He started for the development squad alongside Marvin Sordell in attack and his goal gave Burnley the lead against the Cumbrians at Gawthorpe.

Dyche admitted that Vokes remained some way short of a return to the first team picture and said he won’t be rushed back too early.

“It’s his first real step on the way back,” said Clarets boss Dyche.

"He’s been training with us and growing in confidence as well as feeling good,” Dyche said after the match.

“The next stage of that was obviously playing in a reserve game and he’s done that and got 45 minutes under his belt.

“It’s another positive step for him but we won’t rush him back as we want him to come back fit once fully ready.”

Vokes returned to full training with the first team last week after stepping up his return to fitness in October when he started to work on the grass with the fitness team.

He suffered the injury in the early stages of the Turf Moor clash with eventual champions Leicester and has had to watch in frustration as his teammates struggled in the early stages of the Premier League.

The 25-year-old scored 20 Championship goals to help the Clarets to promotion last season but was unable to affect the outcome as Burnley went 10 top flight games without a win to start this season.

But after back-to-back wins against Hull and Stoke the pressure has been lifted at Turf Moor and Vokes’ return to action will be a further boost to Sean Dyche and his squad.

Lukas Jutkiewicz and Marvin Sordell both arrived in the summer to strengthen the options in attack, with Ashley Barnes signed in January.

With Vokes nearing a return he will be competing with Jutkiewicz, Sordell and Barnes, the man currently in possession after his goal against Hull, for a starting spot alongside Danny Ings.

The partnership between Vokes and Ings was crucial to the Clarets’ success last season, as the pair bagged 41 league goals between them.

Before suffering his injury Vokes had scored 12 times in 14 games and was in the most prolific form of his career, and he will be seeking a return to that kind of level of sharpness over the next few weeks as he continues to step up his return to action.

Vokes and Sordell were part of a strong development squad that featured at Gawthorpe, with Matt Gilks, Steven Reid, Ben Mee, Nathaniel Chalobah and Ross Wallace also starting.