Brentford’s Dasilva facing ‘months’ out with hamstring Injury

Brentford have been hit with a double injury blow ahead of their London derby against Crystal Palace this weekend, with boss Thomas Frank confirming both are “longer-term” injuries.

Josh Dasilva is set for “months” on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, according to Frank, while Shandon Baptiste will miss extended time with a dislocated shoulder picked up in training this week.

Dasilva, who suffered his injury in the recent west London derby against Fulham. previously spent a year out of action with a hip problem.

Frank said: “It’s tough. Injuries are so tough for the players. I feel for him (Dasilva) because in many ways he’s been working so hard to come back to his normal level.

“There are setbacks in football and in life and how you respond to those is what makes you as a person, and I’m not in doubt that Josh will fight back.”

Dasilva, who joined the club from Arsenal in 2018, has a year left on his current contract with the option of a further additional year.

Asked about the player’s long-term future, Frank said: “The main focus for us right now is to support Josh.

“He’s a player who has been with us for a long time and we really like him as a player and a person.”

Veteran defender Ben Mee remains unavailable, with Frank reiterating the club must be cautious with the defender in his return from injury.

“This game has come too quickly for Ben Mee. Ben was so good for us last season, so we don’t want to rush into it,” Frank explained.

“He’s been training harder today and will be available and most likely start on Tuesday against Newport.”

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Brentford to re-sign Iranian winger Saman Ghoddos just months after leaving club

Exclusive: Thomas Frank has been keen to bolster his midfield options and Ghoddos is expected to return after leaving Brentford on a free

Brentford are set to re-sign Saman Ghoddos, with the Iranian winger making a shock return to the Gtech Community Centre in the final week of the summer transfer window.

Ghoddos, 29, left Brentford in the summer as a free agent but did not sign for another club for the current campaign and is wanted by Thomas Frank to add competition in his midfield.

Frank has been looking at attacking midfield options, with Josh Dasilva out injured with a hamstring problem which will rule him out of the Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace this weekend.

In Ghoddos, Frank has a player he has previously relied upon, having signed him initially on loan in 2020 while in the Championship, then playing him during the club’s promotion to the Premier League.

He played regularly in the Championship team and in the Premier League made 32 appearances in the last two seasons before his short-lived departure.

Brentford have made an excellent start to the campaign without last-season’s top scorer Ivan Toney, with a draw against Tottenham Hotspur followed up with a win at Fulham last weekend. Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo have provided their firepower but Frank has been looking to add numbers to his squad in attacking areas.

Bids have been made for Fiorentina winger Nicolás González but there has yet to be a breakthrough in the deal for the Argentina international. Nathan Collins from Wolves was the club’s big summer signing at centre-back.

Frank insisted recently that he was not looking at a like-for-like replacement at No 9 for Toney. “I prefer to keep Ivan, of course, but we were quite confident that Wissa and Mbeumo will provide us goals. So will [Keane] Lewis-Potter and [Kevin] Schade. That’s why we haven’t brought in another striker,” he said.

Ahead of the Palace clash he will check on Ben Mee’s fitness as the centre-back has been recovering from a calf problem.