BURNLEY boss Sean Dyche will let Sam Vokes make the decision on when he is ready to return to first-team action - but the striker is unlikely to be involved against Southampton on Saturday.

Vokes is expected to continue his comeback from knee surgery in a development squad game at Middlesbrough tomorrow afternoon, having already scored three times in two appearances for Burnley’s second string in recent weeks.

MORE TOP STORIES:

But Dyche, who has lost left back Stephen Ward to a fractured ankle and whose Clarets side were beaten 2-0 at QPR on Saturday, says the Premier League clash with Vokes’ hometown club Southampton at the weekend will almost certainly come too soon for the forward.

The Burnley boss says it will be Vokes who will know best when he is ready to play for the first team again.

“We’ll try to get him more minutes this week,” Dyche said. “I doubt he’ll be involved against Southampton but we’ll see.

“It’s important that he’s ready. Forget about when I think he’s ready, it’s important that he’s ready.

“We’re not putting the reins on him, it’s just when he’s ready.

“Managers and coaches can make decisions too early, you can leave them too late.

“I always think the players know when they’re ready, I certainly did when I was a player.

“I wasn’t as talented as him but I had a good mentality and I knew when I was right and ready.

“He’ll know and when he’s ready he’ll let me know.”

Dyche saw Ward stretchered off against Newcastle last week and the Irishman now faces a spell on the sidelines.

“He’s seen a specialist but he sees him again today,” the manager said.

“He’s got a minor fracture in the bottom of his ankle.

“Obviously he can’t play but it’s pretty straightforward and it’s just a time issue now to get that well again.”

Dyche will be given money to spend in the January transfer window but is realistic that it will not be on the same level as some of Burnley’s competitors.

“There will be funds available, there were in the summer, some of our targets went just through the roof and out of our reach,” he added.

“It’s not just the challenge of the fees. You all know how the market works, it’s the wages, that’s a massive challenge for our football club because there has to be a story beyond this one.

“I understand. We’ve been aligned with it from a board point of view from the chief executive to myself. We all understand the realities of the club.

“It makes the challenge harder of course. We all know that this is probably the main market that does need funding.

“It’s very difficult because quality costs.

“It costs whether you want your fridge for your new kitchen or whether you want a centre forward.

“It costs a lot of money.”