Burnley have confirmed Ashley Westwood sustained a "serious injury to his ankle" during Sunday afternoon's Premier League fixture at West Ham.
Westwood, 32, landed awkwardly and was stretchered off midway through the first half after battling for a loose ball with Nikola Vlasic in the centre of the pitch. The Irons playmaker could not hold back the tears and was consoled by players from both teams following the collision, which clearly had no malice behind it.
Josh Brownhill was sent on as Westwood's replacement in midfield and Burnley soon took the lead at the London Stadium through Wout Weghorst. However, the relegation-threatened Clarets were pegged back and had to settle for a point after Tomas Soucek equalised with just over a quarter of an hour remaining.
In a statement released on Twitter after the match, Burnley said Westwood is "doing well" and will consult a specialist to discover the extent of his injury. "Ashley Westwood today suffered a serious injury to his ankle," the Lancashire club wrote. "He is doing well and with the club doctor and will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days. Everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery."
Michael Jackson, who is serving as Burnley caretaker manager following Sean Dyche's sacking earlier this week, also provided an update on Westwood in his post-match press conference. "He's gone to hospital and we're just seeing now as to where he's at getting more information from the doctor and the physios," Jackson said of the English midfielder. "It's disappointing for us and you can obviously see the lads' reaction to it.
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"Declan Rice came over straight away and everyone knew it was a bad one. We just hope he's okay and our thoughts are obviously with him at this moment in time." The 1-1 draw in East London leaves Burnley three points behind 17th-placed Everton, who have played one game fewer. Jackson saw the result as a fair one and was pleased with how his players responded to witnessing the gruesome injury their teammate suffered.
"Only time will tell but I think that it's a good point with everything that’s gone on including with Ash in the first half," the Clarets caretaker said. "It's a point that we'll take. West Ham are a good side and I think coming here, some people probably wrote us off but it's a good point for the group and it’s one that brings them together giving them something to keep fighting for. We've got two more games this week, we'll take the positives from this and go again. There's stuff for us to build on."
