Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has revealed that Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago have returned to full training.
Hickey has endured a difficult road to recovery from a serious hamstring injury that has kept him out of action since October 2023.
As for Thiago, he has been restricted to just four Premier League appearances since he joined Brentford from Club Brugge last summer.
The striker missed the first three months of the season with a knee injury, before a joint infection forced him back onto the sidelines.
Hickey and Thiago remain unavailable for Thursday’s away clash with Forest, but Frank has delivered the positive news that the pair are now back in full training.
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Hickey, Thiago return to training
“Hickey and Thiago are both training fully with the team now,” Frank told reporters in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“They have done that for the last couple of trainings. They won’t be ready for Nottingham, but it’s very positive. Everyone is available from the last game.”
Frank also gave an encouraging response when he was asked whether the pair could return to action before the end of the season.
“Hopefully, Fingers crossed for that,” Frank said. “When they are training fully with the team, they are definitely close. How close, we will see over the next one to two weeks.”
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Frank explains reasoning for Janelt surgery
While Hickey and Thiago are close to a return, midfielder Vitaly Janelt is at the start of his road to recovery after the club announced on Tuesday that he has undergone surgery to resolve a persistent injury issue.
Janelt will miss Brentford’s final five games of the season, but Frank explained that it was the right time for the operation to take place.
“It’s something that Vitaly and me spoke about and agreed that the timing is right,” the Brentford boss added. “Vitaly has been carrying this issue throughout the season.
“He has done so well to manage it, make himself available and help the team. He’s pushed through pain and all sorts of things. It’s probably limited him a little bit to top perform, but he’s still put fine, good performances out there. He’s helped the team massively.
“Now it’s the right timing and hopefully it will get him back early next season.”
Brentford will head into Thursday’s fixture in 11th position in the Premier League table after collecting 46 points from 33 matches.
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