Why Caoimhin Kelleher is not playing for Brentford against Burnley today | Football

TL;DR – Two-minute read

Caoimhin Kelleher was omitted from Brentford’s squad ahead of their Premier League match against Burnley due to the birth of his child. The team aimed to recover from a 2-0 defeat to Brighton, starting the day in seventh place, while Burnley sought points to escape the relegation zone. Hakon Valdimarsson made his first league start in Kelleher’s absence.

Caoimhin Kelleher misses out for Brentford today

Caoimhin Kelleher has been left out of the Brentford squad for their Premier League match against Burnley this afternoon due to the birth of his child. This absence comes as Brentford seeks to rebound from their recent 2-0 defeat to Brighton and aims to maintain their hopes of European football next season.

Brentford currently sit in seventh place and could narrow the gap to fifth-place Chelsea to just two points with a victory at Turf Moor against relegation-threatened Burnley. Keith Andrews, the Brentford manager, confirmed the news ahead of kick-off, saying: “Caoimhin’s partner had a baby. We are delighted for them and we wish them well but he couldn’t play today.”

Kelleher’s absence is not injury-related, and in his place, Hakon Valdimarsson has been given his first start of the league season. Brentford has made a total of five changes to their lineup, with Michael Kayode returning from injury to replace Aaron Hickey at right-back, and Mikkel Damsgaard, Yehor Yarmoliuk, and Kevin Schade coming in for Jordan Henderson, Keane Lewis-Potter, and Vitaly Janelt.

Burnley have also made adjustments to their squad, making three changes from their impressive 1-1 draw with Chelsea last weekend. They currently occupy 19th place, eight points adrift of safety.