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| Danny Ings is just a month away from a return |
Just a couple of weeks ago the Clarets swooped for Wolves' Sam Vokes to boost the forward options and the following day it looked to have become even a bigger boost when Austin went down with a shoulder injury in the home game against Leeds with Vokes coming on as his replacement.
There were fears that Charlie could be out for some time but yesterday came good news about him, Paterson and Ings with the first two set to be included in the first team squad for the next home game against Portsmouth a week tomorrow.
However, manager Eddie Howe confirmed yesterday: "Charlie is back with us in training now. We are really pleased to have him in and around us and it's just a case of Charlie feeling confident in his shoulder again and making sure he can withstand the rigours that go with it. I am sure he will be fine and again he will hopefully be in contention for Portsmouth."
That was excellent news. Austin was always going to be a big miss given his start to the season but there was a further piece of good news with Martin Paterson having come through 45 minutes behind closed doors.
"Martin came through the game fine. He has been excellent in training," Howe. "He's flying in training and has looked razor-sharp. He's done everything we want him to do. Hopefully we will get another game for him next week and once he comes through that he will be available for selection.
"To have him back, with his attitude and his infectious work-rate will be a huge boost to us. And with his experience. Although he is still relatively young he has achieved a lot in his career."
That could see a real selection poser for the Portsmouth game if both Austin and Paterson are in the squad alongside Jay Rodriguez and Vokes, and if that's not all there's been further good news on Ings.
"He's not far away," Howe confirmed. "He went to see a specialist on Wednesday and received good news, so we are probably looking about a month from now.
"The specialist was very happy with what he saw. It will be a case of building him up and getting him ready to play."
Vokes' loan will be over by the time Ings is ready to join the squad, but should that loan be extended it would give us a fantastic front five to choose from in the second half of the season, then allowing Howe to concentrate on defensive and midfield positions during the January transfer window.