Brentford left-back Rico Henry is in line for his first Premier League appearance since September 2023 when the Bees host Manchester City at the Gtech Community Stadium on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old ended a 16-month absence from the sport in Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup third-round defeat to Plymouth Argyle, completing 63 minutes at home after his severe knee injury.
Thomas Frank must now decide whether Henry is ready for a second start in a matter of days, but as the defender had been missing for nearly a year and a half, he will surely err on the side of caution.
As a result, Keane Lewis-Potter - who has just signed a new long-term deal - should come back into the defensive line, and the same goes for Mark Flekken and Nathan Collins.
Rearguard shortages mean that Mads Roerslev and Sepp van den Berg should reprise their roles at the back, though, as Kristoffer Ajer, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee and Aaron Hickey are all out.
There should not be any respite for creative hub Mikkel Damsgaard in the engine room either, but Vitaly Janelt and Christian Norgaard - both of whom were rested at the weekend - will push for midfield recalls.
Up front, the deadly double act of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa will be renewed alongside Kevin Schade; the former duo have bagged 17 home goals between them in the 2024-25 Premier League season, nine for Mbeumo and eight for his Congolese colleague.
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Roerslev, Van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade
> Click here to see how Man City could line up for this clash
Ben Knapton
