Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton ruled out for four months following surgery on dislocated shoulder

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England goalkeeper Tom Heaton is expected to be out of action for four months following surgery on his dislocated left shoulder.

Burnley are considering offering a short-term contract to former Manchester United keeper Anders Lindegaard after learning that Heaton could be sidelined until the New Year with the injury he sustained in last weekend's win over Crystal Palace.

The 31-year-old is set to miss half the Premier League season for his club as well as England's remaining World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania next month.

Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton could miss up to four months after undergoing surgery

Heaton had surgery on Wednesday and Burnley manager Sean Dyche confirmed that his captain faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. He did not specify a timeframe, but Sportsmail understands that Heaton is unlikely to return until January.

'I haven't spoken to Tom yet because he was a bit groggy last night,' said Dyche. 'A surgeon we've known for a while at the club did a very good job as far as I know.

'We're happy the surgery went well but we won't rush Tom back. He has to be 100 per cent right, but this is just a blip and he'll be fine.'

The England international dislocated his shoulder during the victory over Crystal Palace

Lindegaard has been training with Burnley this week and could be brought in as back-up to Nick Pope if he does enough to impress Dyche.

The 33-year-old Dane, who spent four-and-a-half years at United, has been a free agent since leaving Preston this summer.

Dyche added: 'He's come in and spent a few days with us and we will speak to him accordingly.

'There's nothing imminent yet, but in an ideal world we'd like three fit keepers, so we're definitely open-minded to what's out there.'

Anders Lindegaard has been training with Burnley with a view to a short-term move