Sunderland are reported to have ended their interest in Republic of Ireland striker Jon Walters after the Burnley player underwent keyhole surgery on Wednesday to address a cartilage problem.

The 34 year-old has been struggling for game time at Burnley since moving to the club last summer from Stoke City but after four months on the sidelines he make a couple of appearances in recent weeks, coming on in the league game against Manchester United and the cup defeat by Manchester City.

In a series of tweets from the hospital where he was about to undergo the operation, though, he suggested that the latest injury will keep him out for eight weeks, a setback that has apparently prompted Chris Coleman to look elsewhere.

"He went to see a specialist with a tiny split in his cartilage," said Burnley boss, Sean Dyche. "It's not even a tear, it's not serious, but has to be taken care of. They thought it best to keyhole it and deal with it.

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“It’s the same knee he’s been building up, and it’s unfortunate for him and us, especially with the amount of injuries we’ve picked up.”