Burton Albion are unlikely to sign former Nottingham Forest striker Matty Fryatt after a trial with the Brewers during pre-season, and said plans are already in place for Boyce's replacement.

Fryatt - now training with Walsall after his release by Forest this summer following a three-year spell marred by an Achilles injury - played in games against Kidsgrove Athletic, Solihull Moors and Mickleover Sports for the Brewers this summer.

But Burton boss Nigel Clough has revealed that a move for the striker is now off the cards, given the need for a player who is likely to feature for most of the campaign after record-signing Liam Boyce was ruled out for most of the season on Tuesday.

Boyce ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Shrewsbury Town - and that has now left the Brewers with two recognised strikers in Luke Varney and Marvin Sordell.

Matty Fryatt in action for Nottingham Forest

Lucas Akins can play up-front - as he did against Leicester City on Tuesday night - but was pencilled in to start the season at right-back given his versatility.

Varney has missed the latter stages of pre-season with hamstring issues - and Sordell did not feature against the Foxes because of suspension after his sending off against the Shrews.

A move for the former Leicester hitman - who hit 32 goals in their 2008/09 promotion season - would have given Clough an experienced striker in the ranks whose games he could pick and choose.

But now - with Albion's first-choice striker out - the situation has changed drastically, with Clough needing a dependable forward who can play a whole season.

Something that he believes Fryatt couldn’t manage after enduring a torrid past couple of years with Clough's former club.

"Matty left us a couple of weeks ago, Clough confirmed.

"He came in for the first two weeks of pre-season, played a couple of friendlies, and then went off on trial somewhere else.

"We’re not sure of his situation at the moment, but Matty's not played for two years.

Matty Fryatt in pre-season action for Burton Albion

"That's a long time to be out the game,

"We’ll probably need somebody who’s going to be available at to start games and play 30/40 games for us.

"It's a big risk for Matty and - as good as he is and as proven as he is - two years is a long time out."

Clough also clarified the plans for bringing in Boyce's successor, with the signing most likely to be a player on loan.

The likes of Cauley Woodrow and Michael Kightly made such an impact last term, and the Brewers will be hoping whoever comes in will galvanise the squad in a similar way.

"We'll get somebody in before the window closes," he added.

"We started making calls immediately, it will most likely be a loan.

"I think, as has happened in previous windows, a lot of people want to hang on to their players early on.

"Especially with playing in the league cup, a lot of them use the squad players for that game.

"So it will be towards the end of the window.

"We might have to get through the first five or six games and then get them in from there."