CLUB captain Gordon Armstrong is the latest to join the queue for treatment at Turf Moor as Burnley's left-back jinx strikes again.

Full-backs Paul Smith and Tom Cowan are already on the injured list and Armstrong missed training yesterday with an Achilles tendon injury he sustained at Luton Town on Saturday.

The skipper has had two decent games since replacing Smith on the left-hand side of the defence, and Clarets boss Stan Ternent will certainly want him available to face derby rivals Blackpool on Sunday.

"Gordon's having treatment but hopefully he will be okay," confirmed Ternent today.

After steering clear of injuries in the early part of the season, the problems have begun to stack up for the Clarets, a situation exacerbated by Mark Robertson's departure to Tunisia this lunch-time with the Australian under-23 squad.

"With the injuries we've got we could have done without that," Ternent reiterated. "We were down to 16 at Luton on Saturday with Anthony Shandran as number 17.

"So if none of the four (Smith, Cowan, Lenny Johnrose and Dean West) are ready for Sunday, we'll have 15.

"If we then get a suspension we will be in a mess. It just shows how quickly the situation can change.

"After we picked up those injuries at Barnet we had three games in seven days and then you've got to be careful in training, about how hard to push them or whether to give them time to rest."

As well as Armstrong, Johnrose could be the best bet for a return to duty against the Seasiders as he is making good progress following a groin strain.

And there was brighter news on the longer-term injury front when Peter Swan returned to first-team training for the first time in almost nine months yesterday. Swan hasn't played since rupturing knee ligaments at Wycombe in February but took a major step on the comeback trail when he linked up with the senior squad.

However, the big defender faces another couple of weeks of work on the training ground before being pencilled in for reserve-team duty.

Meanwhile, clubs losing in the second round of the FA Cup the weekend after next - when Burnley entertain Rotherham - have been offered a potential repreive by the FA.

One of the 20 losing clubs are to be given a second chance in the competition this season under a scheme drawn up to cope with the non-participation of Manchester United.

With the deadline having passed for United to reverse their decision to opt out, the Football Association have created an AXA wild-card spot.

The move is designed to ensure that one of the tournament's smaller teams, rather than the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, are the beneficiaries of United's withdrawal.

When the third-round draw takes place on November 21, a total of 63 balls - as opposed to the normal 64 - will be included and the final team to be picked out will play at home to the wild-card entry.

But the identity of that club will not be known until after all 20 second-round ties, including replays, have been concluded, when all the losing teams will then enter their own draw for the wild-card spot.

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