Brentford have been dealt a major injury blow after scans confirmed that left-back Rico Henry suffered serious knee damage in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Newcastle.
Henry will require surgery on his left knee and is expected to miss the rest of the season. It is the second time the defender has suffered a significant knee injury, having ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee in September 2017 and did not play again for 14 months.
The 26-year-old had started the campaign in brilliant form and Bees head coach Thomas Frank felt he deserved an England call-up for games against Ukraine and Scotland this month.
“Rico will require surgery in the next week or so and, unfortunately, a prolonged period of recovery”, Brentford’s head of medical, Neil Greig, said in a club statement on Tuesday.
“Whilst this is disappointing, Rico has been through a similar experience in the past and is already focussed on using this as an opportunity to become fitter and stronger than before. We will support him fully throughout this process.”
Losing such a key player is a huge setback for Brentford, who on Monday welcomed Ivan Toney back to training for the first time since his FA ban for breaching rules on betting. The striker cannot return to action until January 16, but he is now free to train with the squad again.
