Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has given a positive update on the fitness of Rico Henry ahead of the Bees’ clash with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
The left-back has played just three minutes in the league this season – a late cameo in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City in January – before being named on the bench for the defeat to Liverpool a few days later.
A hamstring injury has kept him out since then, but Frank revealed there is a “good chance” that Henry will be in the squad for this weekend’s west London derby.
On the status of his squad, the Brentford head coach stated: “Everyone from the Newcastle game is fine.
“The three boys [Henry, Aaron Hickey and Gustavo Nunes] who played for Brentford B [against Fleetwood Town Under-21s] are in a good place; Mathi [Jensen] is fine and training well – he could be available on Sunday.
“Mikkel Damsgaard is fine, it is no secret that he will start on Sunday!”
When questioned about whether Henry will be named in the squad, Frank added: “There’s a good chance. He’s the closest of the three who played in the Brentford B game.
“He badly wants to play, of course. A Rico Henry, at his best… we would really like him in the team.”
On whether Henry will come back the same player as before, Frank stated: “That, we don’t know. But I believe he will.”
Fábio Carvalho (shoulder) is unlikely to feature again this season; Josh Dasilva and Igor Thiago are still recovering from knee injuries, with the latter back in part training.
‘There’s a good chance. He’s the closest of the three who played in the B team game. He badly wants to play, of course. A Rico Henry, at his best… we would really like him in the team’
Frank also revealed the difficulties of having a fully fit squad, with there being some real competition at left-back after Keane Lewis-Potter’s superb performances there this season.
He stated: “I’ve learned in football that that is a bit in the future! Right now, I’m happy with Keane as left-back and he has been one of our most reliable players this season, he has been fantastic.
“Rico will need to hit his best [to get back into the team], so it will be good competition.”
Frank added: “The worst thing as a football manager is that you can only play 11 players. You have 25 players that you want to show that you trust, but they don’t believe that you trust them until they play!
“You want to be a good guy, but I have to pick the team that I believe is the best team and that I believe can win the game. But it is also a very nice problem to have.
