Potter hopeful over McBurnie ahead of cup tie

Graham Potter hopes Oli McBurnie will be in a position to start Sunday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Brentford following his recent struggles with illness.

The striker came off the bench in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Elland Road, helping the Swans launch a late fightback and netting his 16th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

The 22-year-old now has eight goals from just seven appearances in 2019, but his involvement in recent weeks has been limited as he has tried to shake off a sickness bug.

Potter acknowledged the Swans top scorer had made an impact following his introduction at Elland Road, but says considerations over the Scotland international’s welfare have to come first.

However, he hopes to have McBurnie in contention to start the last-16 tie against the Bees at the Liberty.

“He did make a difference when he came on, and of course I would like to have him from the start,” said the Swansea manager.

“But he has been ill, he has been on antibiotics, he has been coughing stuff up. The decision was made more for his welfare.

“We would like to have him for longer. We hope he might be in a position to start against Brentford.

“We will see how he responds, he has been ill for two or three weeks and he has had something that has knocked him about a hell of a lot.

“But you could see his quality when he came on and we missed that, but we hope he can play a bigger part in the Brentford game.”