Burnley's Premier League survival hopes this season have been dealt a sever blow with the news that star striker Martin Paterson will be out for up to three months after undergoing a knee operation.

The 22-year-old twisted his knee in the early stages of the Clarets' Carling Cup third round defeat by Barnsley on Tuesday night and manager Owen Coyle revealed that he feared he would require a lengthy lay-off.

The Northern Ireland international, who was the club's top scorer last season with 19 goals following his £1million switch from Scunthorpe, has undergone exploratory surgery to repair a tear in the cartilage of his knee.

Paterson, who is expected to be sidelined until December, joins Chris McCann on the sidelines after the midfielder damaged medial knee ligaments in last weekend's 3-1 win over Sunderland which has also ruled him out for three months.

In addition to missing a large chunk of the Clarets' first top-flight campaign in 33 years, Paterson will also be forced to sit out Northern Ireland's must win 2010 World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic next month.