Burnley FC: Scott Parker has double Lyle Foster worry - View | OneFootball

Picking up injury on international duty, and scoring just once this season, Lyle Foster has given Scott Parker plenty to think about before Saturday.

With just one goal scored across their last three Championship fixtures, Burnley can ill afford to lose their multi-million pound striker, but Scott Parker now has two headaches as Lyle Foster may be unavailable for selection this weekend.

The Clarets' hit-and-miss frontman returned to the North West early from international duty to undergo treatment of a knee injury sustained in South Africa's clash with Congo on Friday - a game his nation won 5-0 and he scored in.

South Africa boss Hugo Broos cited how sharp Foster looked in that match, and he was hopeful that he would feature in Tuesday's return fixture, so Foster's return to Turf Moor perhaps symbolises that the injury is more serious than first feared.

All Burnley can hope for now is a recovery in time for Saturday's trip to Sheffield Wednesday, and Parker will be hoping for that more than most, as he knows their options behind Foster - who himself isn't exactly prolific - are limited, with Jay Rodriguez and Andréas Hountondji the only out-and-out striking options he has at his disposal.

He does, of course, have the trump card of Zian Flemming up his sleeve to utilise as a false nine - something he did away to Leeds when Foster also missed out - but that does have a 'square peg, round hole' feel to it.

Parker's striking options if Foster is unavailable

A like-for-like swap for Rodriguez would appear the most obvious solution, but without a league start since August, the boyhood Clarets fan isn't exactly what you'd call in favour, while the fact his contract is up in the summer would support the fact he's deemed surplus to requirements.

He does, though, have 64 career goals to his name in the Championship and has proved he is prolific enough to score at this level. His age is a concern, however, as at 35-years-old, getting a full 90 minutes out of the veteran is unlikely.

Summer recruit Hountondji is another option Parker has at his disposal, but he's a relatively unknown quantity in English football, and has shown little so far to suggest he could fill the striking void, with a glaring miss from six yards against Oxford last month doing little to ease any nerves.

He did score 14 goals in the French second tier last season though, so there's no doubting that he's proved fairly recently that he knows where the net is, and he perhaps is just taking a while to adapt to the demands of English football.

Having mentioned Flemming was a trump card, his inclusion if Foster is to miss out would appear to be the likeliest scenario.

Foster missed the first game after the last international break, and it was Flemming trusted with plugging the gap he left behind. He did so admirably, leading the line in a 1-0 away win at Leeds, but without a league start since, similarly to the other two candidates, match sharpness is a concern.

Foster being available perhaps isn't the blessing it may seem

That trademark celebration visible above is something Burnley fans have seldom seen since he made the switch from Westerlo, with the South African netting just seven goals across a half century of games.

It's that lack of true goal scoring prowess that makes his price tag hard to understand, and although many believed the step-down into the Championship would benefit his game, in truth it hasn't had the desired effect. In fact, he's collected twice as many yellow cards this season as he has goal involvements.

One goal so far this season is symptomatic of the struggles he's faced in Claret and Blue, and with Burnley harbouring very real hopes of returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking, an average of one goal every 9.5 games in the Championship simply won't cut it.

The Burnley promotion teams of the past all had at least one go-to man in the final third - Danny Ings, Andre Gray, Sam Vokes, Nathan Tella - but this Burnley team is looking at Foster for inspiration and getting precious little back.

If he's absent here, someone else gets the chance to step up and be the next Burnley striking hero, but with options behind him limited, if he's close to fitness on Saturday, then Parker has a tough decision to make whether he risks his big money striker, who is yet to deliver, or looks to one of his understudies who have proved incapable of pushing Foster out the team.