Sam Clucas has revealed he underwent a medical at Burnley before a problem with his meniscus ended his proposed move to Turf Moor, in an exclusive interview with Football Lowdown.

The former Hull City and Swansea City midfielder instead joined Stoke City for a reported £6m in August 2018, signing a four-year contract after both clubs had been relegated from the Premier League.

Sam Clucas reveals how Burnley move broke down

Clucas had undergone knee surgery towards the end of his season with Swansea, having continued playing despite needing an operation. He says Burnley knew about the procedure before he attended his medical, but the proposed switch still fell through.

“Stoke came in,” he told the Championship Lowdown show.

“I nearly went to Burnley, actually. I’d done a medical and stuff at Burnley. And they actually failed my medical on my meniscus.”

He also revealed he had needed injections to continue playing during the latter part of his Swansea spell. Clucas said he had kept that detail to himself because he did not want supporters to think he was making excuses for his performances.

“We told them about it before I went for medical, that I’d just had surgery on my meniscus and it wasn’t a major op.”

A move to Burnley would have offered him a third successive season in the Premier League after Hull’s relegation in 2017 and Swansea’s a year later. Instead, the failed medical left him looking elsewhere as the summer transfer deadline approached.

Clucas returned to Swansea before completing his deadline-day move to Stoke on 9 August 2018. Although that meant remaining in the Championship, he believed the squad assembled at the bet365 Stadium would soon take him back to the top flight.

Stoke City squad convinced Clucas promotion would follow

Stoke could call upon players including Peter Crouch, Bojan Krkic and Joe Allen when Clucas arrived. For a player who had already experienced Premier League football with Hull and Swansea, the prospect of another promotion felt realistic.

“I just had an amazing five years at Stoke, to be honest with you. Again, when I joined there, I fully believed that I’d be back in the Premier League. When I joined, I looked at their squad.

“They had Peter Crouch and Bojan and players like Joe Allen playing, and you’re thinking, this squad, if I’m signing a four-year deal here, there’s no way we’re going to be stuck in the Championship for four years. I’m going to get back to the Premier League with this team. And it just never happened again.”

Despite those expectations, Clucas’s five seasons at Stoke passed without a return to the Premier League. He remembers his time there fondly, but remains disappointed that the quality available never translated into promotion.

“And, like I said, it’s just really disappointing, really, not to kick on and get back into the Premier League with Stoke.”

Clucas’s career has taken him from non-league football with Hereford United to the Premier League with Hull and Swansea, with five years at Stoke followed by spells at Rotherham United, Oldham Athletic, Lincoln City and Shrewsbury Town.

You can hear more about that journey when the full podcast interview is released on our YouTube channel this Wednesday.