Barton's alleged betting offences adjourned

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has welcomed the news that Joey Barton is free to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday after a Football Association (FA) hearing into charges he made over 1,000 thousand bets during a 10-year period was postponed.

Barton accepted a charge in February and requested a personal hearing, which was due to take place on Wednesday.

However, that was postponed when one of the members of the FA commission fell ill meaning the hearing will be held at a later date, leaving Barton - who was taken off late in last weekend's defeat at Swansea City with a hamstring injury - free to feature. 

"Joey was struggling with his hamstring a bit [against Swansea]," Clarets boss Dyche told The Burnley Express.

"Obviously we don't know what will happen [with the commission], but you can't risk players on the verge of a possible injury.

"Joey's hamstring was tight and we didn't want to take a chance. We didn't know what was going to happen, but it looks a good decision now as he's still available.

"It's good he's still available to us, he probably wants a bit of clarity on the situation, but it's good for us, since he's been fully fit he's been back playing and he has done a good job for us again."

Dyche went on to confirm that Steven Defour and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are unlikely to be named in this weekend's squad as they continue to battle respective hamstring and knee injuries, but goalkeeper Tom Heaton has recovered from the illness that forced him to miss the Swansea game and striker Ashley Barnes is available again after serving a one-game suspension.