Cameron Burgess feared to have serious Achilles injury after Carabao Cup loss

Cameron Burgess is feared to have suffered a significant Achilles injury after limping off during Swansea City's Carabao Cup defeat by Birmingham City and being taken to hospital for scans.

Burgess, 30, had a shortened pre-season after playing for Australia at this summer's World Cup and has not missed a minute of Championship football since joining Swansea in the summer of 2025; that run looks set to end with Swansea's 2026-27 league opener at Stoke City on Saturday, 15 August. He started the match alongside Ben Cabango as Swansea were beaten 1-0 by Birmingham.

The injury occurred late in the game when Burgess landed after challenging for a header; Swansea finished the match with 10 men because they had already used all their substitutions. Swansea head coach Vitor Matos said: "It doesn't look good but I prefer to wait for the assessment," adding, "It could be related to the Achilles but let's see."

Summer signing Stephen Welsh, who was named on the bench against Birmingham, is being considered as a replacement for Burgess for the trip to Stoke. Matos also has the option of moving Filip Lissah into central defence; the 21-year-old made his first competitive start for Swansea at right-back against Birmingham before making way for Josh Key in the second half. Matos said: "Welshy is more than ready to come in [and] we can still play Lissah [at centre-back], so there are plenty of options."

Swansea had been exploring additions at centre-back prior to Burgess's problem and Matos acknowledged the club may need to change their transfer approach depending on the scan results. He said: "From when that is confirmed, of course we need to reassess the situation and think what we can do in the market," and added, "Let's see. The market's open. Everything can happen. We never know. We are ready to receive the players that will help us to be a better team."

Scans carried out at hospital will determine the severity of Burgess's condition, and any confirmed long-term absence would prompt Swansea to reassess their squad options ahead of the trip to Stoke City on Saturday, 15 August.