Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope has undergone surgery on the knee injury that ended his hopes of being involved in England’s Euro 2020 squad. Pope was omitted from the 33-man squad named by Gareth Southgate on Tuesday which will be cut down to 26 by June 1 for this summer’s tournament. The 29-year-old, who has won seven caps for his country, would have been named in that squad, having started all three March qualifiers, only for an injury to end any hopes of being involved. Pope 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.
Boss Sean Dyche said: “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, with only three ‘keepers managing more as Burnley finished the season in 17th spot.
