Nick Pope taken to hospital with shoulder injury after Burnley draw at Aberdeen

The England international was off the park by the time Gary Mackay-Steven converted a 19th-minute penalty in the first leg of the second qualifying round tie at Pittodrie.

Dyche, whose side levelled through substitute Sam Vokes in the 80th minute, said: “He’s gone to hospital. At this stage it looks more serious than not serious.”

The World Cup squad member dropped the ball under pressure from Sam Cosgrove before being injured in a follow-up challenge as Lewis Ferguson and James Tarkowski competed for the loose ball.

“It was a strange kind of challenge,” Dyche said. “He was dealing with the ball and it was a bit late, it wasn’t a nasty one. It knocked him down and I think it was the second phase where he got his shoulder or his arm knocked back. It’s around the shoulder area.”

Dyche felt his side were hard done to when the German referee ruled Tarkowski had illegally used his arm in an aerial challenge on Cosgrove inside the box.

“When you think about how the game panned out, you take the away goal and the draw,” he said.

Sam Vokes celebrates his equaliser (Ian Rutherford/PA)

“I think we deserved to edge it but I’m not remotely taking anything away from an Aberdeen side that certainly made it a proper game. The atmosphere was great, fans of both sides were excellent and it felt like a real, real game. So absolute credit to Aberdeen for that, and of course the penalty changed it, it changed the feeling in the stadium.

“We can’t get one, we haven’t had one in over a calendar year. I don’t know how much contact there was, it didn’t look like a lot.”

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes felt his side deserved to take the lead but admitted Burnley were well worth their equaliser following their second-half efforts.

McInnes added: “We ran out of legs a wee bit. It’s nothing new. In that first game in Europe it’s difficult to sustain your energy levels.

“But after that game the strength in the legs will be so much better next week, and we’re still in the game. It’s a cup tie.

“We are disappointed not to have won the game after taking the lead and having something to hold on to but nobody could say Burnley didn’t deserve their equaliser.

“You could see why they only lost five or six games on the road in the Premier League last season. Their competitive side came out in the second half.”