Nick Pope has undergone surgery on the knee injury that ended the Burnley goalkeeper’s hopes of being selected for England in this summer’s European Championship.
Pope has won seven caps for his country and would have been expected to take his place in Gareth Southgate’s squad, but the 29-year-old missed the final three games of the recently completed Premier League campaign.
He had been hoping to feature against Sheffield United in last Sunday’s season finale but felt further discomfort in his left knee, so he had what Burnley termed a “successful” operation to address a cartilage issue.
NEWS | Nick Pope has undergone successful knee surgery 💪— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) May 26, 2021
Clarets boss Sean Dyche is optimistic about Pope’s rehabilitation and said on the club’s website: “We’re expecting the recovery to go well at this early stage, but we’ll wait and see as he recovers.
“He’s had a really, really good season once again. He continues to develop into a top, top keeper.
“He’s incredibly unfortunate to have this happen at this time but once again he’s shown what a top keeper he is during the season and I’m sure will do again going into next season once he recovers.”
Pope kept 11 clean sheets over the course of the campaign – only three others kept more – and was a starter in all three of England’s World Cup qualifiers in March, the last time Southgate’s side were in action.
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