Team news: Brentford boosted by return of defensive duo | OneFootball

Brentford are boosted by the return of two defenders for Manchester City’s visit to Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday, head coach Thomas Frank has revealed.

Rico Henry will be involved in a Premier League squad for the first time since September 2023 after playing just over an hour against Plymouth Argyle last weekend, while Ben Mee is also in contention having recovered from a muscle injury.

“From the Southampton squad, everyone is available. Vitaly [Janelt] and [Christian] Nørgaard are back in,” said Frank.

“Rico is available again for the squad and Ben Mee is ready, which is positive news.

“I’m very, very pleased that Rico is back. He’s been one of our best players in the four years in the Premier League.

“It will take a little bit of time before we see him fully firing. That’s not me saying he can’t start or play a Premier League game, but consistent high performances will take a little bit of time to build.

“But he will be involved in the squad tomorrow and it’s up to me to find out how much I can use him. It’s unlikely he will start; it’s still a building process.”

Asked about Fábio Carvalho’s prospects for the weeks ahead, Frank responded: “Very few players step in and perform at a good level from day one – very, very, very few. There needs to be a clear position for them that’s open.

“He’s a very good player and I’m convinced he will be good for us. He’s training well and he’s showing all the right attributes to become a good player for us.

“[Mikkel] Damsgaard has done very well for us – it’s not that I can’t play both, because I can – but that’s made it a bit hard for him.”

Frank added: “I spoke to him yesterday [Sunday, after the 1-0 defeat to Plymouth]. I don’t know if he would be, but I told him not to be too harsh on himself.

“I think he actually did quite well, worked very hard for the team and had many shots and got into good positions. Maybe I didn’t help him enough with putting the right team out there.”

Josh Dasilva (knee), Ethan Pinnock (hamstring), Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Igor Thiago (joint infection), Gustavo Nunes (back) and Aaron Hickey (hamstring) remain sidelined.