Swansea City have been hit with a major injury setback just days before the new Championship campaign kicks off, with centre-back Cameron Burgess facing months on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles.

The defender went down injured during the Swans’ EFL Cup exit to Birmingham City last weekend, and scans have since confirmed the worst — he won’t feature again this season.

Burgess arrived from Ipswich Town last summer and wasted no time making himself indispensable, playing every single minute of Swansea’s league season.

The Australia international, who was part of his country’s squad at this summer’s World Cup, had formed a solid centre-back partnership alongside skipper Ben Cabango.

His absence leaves head coach Vitor Matos with a significant gap to fill just as the Swans prepare to open their campaign away at Stoke City this Saturday.

Matos didn’t hide his disappointment when discussing the blow:

“Cam’s one of the main players of the team,” the Swansea head coach said.

“Unfortunately for him he has this situation now. We are here for him and for the family as a club.

“He knows that he has all our support and we know as well that he has the right mentality and the right character to straight on bounce back and he will do everything to be as quick as possible and in the best shape as well.”

With Burgess out of the picture, the fight is on for who partners Cabango at the back. Summer arrival Stephen Welsh and academy graduate Filip Lissah are both in contention to start at the Bet365 Stadium this weekend.

Do not be surprised, though, if the Swans dip into the market before the transfer window shuts — reinforcements at centre-back look increasingly likely.

“I said that of course we need more depth in one or two positions, so we are seeing in the same way the market until it’s closed,” Matos added, also hinting that central midfield remains an area he’d like to strengthen.

“There’s a lot of options and we will see what we need to do regarding that.”

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