The initial prognosis was not good and fears were that Burns would not make the tournament at all. Talking to the media the day after the star striker said: “My knee is very sore today and is a lot worse than I thought originally. The worry for me is that there is some bruising coming from the top right of my knee extending to the middle of my thigh. The club doctor reckons I have torn some of the muscle fibres in the thigh and should be out for around 2-3 weeks.”
However, since Thursday Burnsy has spent up to 36 hours locked in an oxygen chamber and has visited the notorious faith healer, Eileen Drury, who healed star players such as Darren Anderton, in an attempt to defy the odds and be fit in time. And it all boils down to the fitness test on Friday. Burnsy will drive in a private car from the club's training camp in Herringthorpe to his house in Bramley. If he can walk to his front door without any pain it is thought that he will give himself the all clear and prevent the breaking of thousands of Britain's housewives' hearts by declaring himself fit. He will then rejoin the rest of the squad. If he is unable to make the short 5-yard walk, Simon Pratt will be called up as a replacement.
However, Sunday league club Ring'O Bells are said to be furious that Burns is even considering playing as sources close to officials say that they do not expect him to be fit for the group stages and expect him to struggle to regain fitness until the quarter finals at the latest. Team manager erm ….. Steve Burns has said that he will have the final decision on whether he plays or not.
Fans will be desperate for Burnsy to be declared fit as if his injury were to keep him out, Internet Millers will have to resort to playing Jebu up front, following today's withdrawal of fellow striker Jammer and that is a scenario that most Internet Millers fans will be keen to avoid.