STEVEN Defour is set to miss the rest of the season after undergoing a calf operation.

The Burnley midfielder has featured in just two FA Cup ties since the turn of the year and has struggled with a succession of injuries since a knee problem interrupted his campaign last season.

The Belgian was in impressive form before injury struck in 2017-18 but had only made nine appearances this term.

And Clarets boss Sean Dyche said the 30-year-old had now gone under the knife in Belgium and is unlikely to feature again this season.

"He has had an operation on his calf to release the muscle which is too tight," said the Turf boss of the midfielder.

"He has had it done before many years ago, there is a bit of scar tissue in his calf so the surgeon who he has used before did that and Ally Beattie, our head of medical, went over and oversaw all that so he is recovering now.

"We are very confident that will clear the problem but it is unlikely he will get back before the end of the season which is a bit of a blow."

Defour was in fine form at the start of last season before suffering a knee injury in January.

That ended his season early and he has yet to put together a sustained run of games since.

And he has now suffered a fresh setback with the calf injury he picked up in training ahead of the draw at Manchester United earlier this year.

"He has had a lot of ups and downs," said Dyche of Defour who has not featured in the Premier League since the defeat to Crystal Palace on December 1.

"He had the knee last year and was very unfortunate. He was going so well last year and had the knee situation that was dealt with but he has been clear with that.

“The knock-on effect is that he has had little injuries that sometimes happen. He and we have tried to govern against that.

“The calf situation was one too many and the specialist felt it was best to deal with the long-term view of it.

"That is why he has had to have this operation, I think it is a simple operation in its form but it still needs doing correctly."

Aaron Lennon remains on the comeback trail from his knee injury but is not ready to return.

Dyche added: "Aaron Lennon is getting fitter but he is still not right yet but he is on the grass more regularly."