Brentford striker Igor Thiago is “training very well” and will play an in-house game on Wednesday, head coach Thomas Frank has revealed.
Thiago is yet to make his competitive debut for the club having suffered a meniscus injury during the Bees’ 5-2 victory over AFC Wimbledon in pre-season.
“In training today, he was a handful for the other team,” said Frank.
“The centre-backs struggled a bit with him, which is good. That’s positive, and Gustavo [Nunes] looks bright. The two of them will play an in-house game on Wednesday.”
Asked what Thiago will bring to Brentford’s attack, Frank added: “I’m looking forward to getting him in the team, to have extra firepower up front.
“He is a different type to [Yoane] Wissa and Kevin [Schade]; he is more of a physical presence, he is even better in the air and even better in the box.
“His way of pressing is very aggressive and intense – he can keep going.”
Defenders Kristoffer Ajer (foot) and Rico Henry (knee) are unavailable for Bournemouth’s visit to Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
“Ajer is still out, unfortunately,” said Frank. “We were optimistic, but he didn’t cope as well with training as we thought so he is probably out for a few more weeks with a foot injury.
“We thought that the prognosis looked like he could be available for Fulham, but when we started loading the foot it didn’t respond as well as we’d hoped.
“We are extra cautious with Rico. When he puts his wonderful left foot on the grass we want to be as sure as we can be, so there are some strength markers and other bits we need to tick to be 100 per cent sure.
“If everything goes to plan, it will be a week until he can be involved in a game or that we are more sure. He was on track, had a minor setback, and now we are extra cautious.”
Aaron Hickey (hamstring) and Josh Dasilva (knee) are the west Londoners’ longer-term absentees.
Tickets for Brentford’s game against Bournemouth are still available. Secure your seat here.
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