Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic faces a battle to recover from a hamstring injury in time to return to action in February.
The 28-year-old has scored 11 league goals this season and was absent from Fulham’s 1-0 victory over Brighton on Saturday afternoon.
Mitrovic felt the injury during the warm up ahead of last week’s victory over Nottingham Forest, and Marco Silva said that the club will now decide how best to manage his recovery.
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Fulham next take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at home next Friday, before an FA Cup fifth round clash with Leeds United on February 28.
“We assessed him during the week, with some doubt about whether to take a risk or not,” said Silva. “The medical staff told me was not available for the match. It looks a minor injury.
“I don’t know if he will ready for (Wolves) or just for Leeds. Let’s see. The next few days will be important for us to see if he will be available.”
Silva’s side pulled off a smash and grab victory over Brighton at the Amex on Saturday. Manor Solomon scored the winning goal on 88 minutes, Fulham’s first shot on target.
Fulham started the game with Bobby De Cordova-Reid in attack and Silva said the team missed a focal point, shouldering the blame for playing a “different profile” of player in attack
“That was my fault,” he said. “We are really connected to play with a No 9. It was a little bit difficult for us to link the play, break that first pressure especially when you play against a team who mark you man on man every time.”
He added: “It wasn’t our best performance. We didn’t perform at our best level. Brighton played better than us. But we showed resilience and belief. I have praise our boys for that.”
GO DEEPER
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(Photo: Getty Images)
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