Burns remained on the bench in Lisbon, but he is hoping to feature when Wales face Denmark in Copenhagen in their second Nations League match on Sunday, 27 October.
Following the serious injury that disrupted his remarkable rise from League One to the Premier League with Ipswich, he is grateful simply to be involved with the national team again.
“You have to keep in mind that everything can change for the worse in a single moment,” Burns said.
“That was my immediate reaction when I suffered the injury. Before learning the full extent of the damage, you worry that it might bring your career to an end.
“After surgery, my knee was extremely swollen, and I wondered how I would manage to walk again, let alone return to football.
“The body recovers with time, however, so my priority was to approach rehabilitation properly. Craig’s calls were incredibly important because he had experienced a similar injury during his own playing career.”
Burns had the opportunity to return to the Premier League this season after helping Ipswich secure an immediate promotion back to the top division during the 2025-26 campaign.
Instead, the former Fleetwood wide player decided to move down two divisions and sign for Leicester City, who have found it difficult to adjust to League One under ex-Swansea City manager Russell Martin.
“Staying at Ipswich for another season was an option, and I considered completing the goal of playing an entire Premier League campaign after injury prevented me from doing so before. I had worked extremely hard to return to that standard,” Burns said.
“However, I also needed to consider the long-term future of my career. Ultimately, I accepted a longer deal with Leicester and the possibility of repeating what I achieved at Ipswich by earning consecutive promotions.”
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