Danny Drinkwater's tenure with Burnley is over.

Clarets manager Sean Dyche confirmed on Friday that the 29-year-old midfielder on loan from Chelsea would be returned to his parent club.

Capped three times by England, Drinkwater has been attached with a move to Aston Villa in recent days.

“We couldn’t get him the game-time that he wanted and therefore he’s going to take his chance in January and see if something else comes up that can promise him more game-time," Dyche said. “There’s no grudge to bear. We enjoyed his company and him being around but just couldn’t get enough football for him. It’s a professional decision from his point of view.

A native of Manchester, Drinkwater has only appeared in 59 minutes of action with Sean Dyche's club this season. The Manchester United academy product incurred ligament damage in his ankle during a fight outside of a Manchester bar in September and has made only two appearances afterwards.

Dyche maintains that Drinkwater carried himself with nothing but professionalism during his stay at Turf Moor.

“He has been a credit to himself with his professionalism, other than the incident; the way he has recovered from that and the way has looked after himself," Dyche said. “He has tried to be part of the group. We just haven’t got him as much game-time as he wanted and he needs. I like him as a player and a character and I wish him well.”

Since joining Chelsea from Leicester City in 2017 in a £35 million move, Drinkwater has appeared in only 23 matches for the Blues.