Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has revealed that Igor Thiago will not start Saturday's Premier League clash with Leicester City.
Brentford signed Thiago from Club Brugge in the summer transfer window after they had previously agreed a club-record £30m fee with the Belgian side in February.
However, Thiago has experienced a difficult start to life with the Premier League club, having been sidelined for four months with a knee injury that he sustained in pre-season.
Thiago finally made his debut in last Saturday's goalless draw with Everton, coming off the bench to replace Yoane Wissa in the 72nd minute.
Frank makes Thiago selection decision
After featuring at Goodison Park, Thiago could now make his first competitive home appearance as a Brentford player.
However, Frank has revealed that the Brazilian will not be risked from the start of Saturday's meeting with Leicester at the Gtech Community Stadium.
"He's looking good," Frank told reporters in Friday's pre-match press conference. "He played 70 minutes for the B team on Tuesday – 70 valuable minutes. He is ready to potentially start games, but he will not start tomorrow.
"We have a very good in-form striker in Yoane Wissa. He has seven goals – not many strikers have scored more than him in the Premier League, so he is doing very well. He is doing fantastic, and I am very pleased with him."
Who will miss Brentford's clash with Leicester?
While Thiago has returned to fitness, Brentford are still without the services of long-term absentees Aaron Hickey and Josh Dasilva.
Kristoffer Ajer and Rico Henry are sidelined with foot and knee injuries respectively, while Gustavo Nunes is not ready to return to action despite featuring in a behind-closed-door friendly earlier this month.
In positive news, Brentford will be able to call upon their captain Christian Norgaard after they won their appeal to overturn his red card against Everton.
Norgaard will be looking to help his side win four consecutive Premier League home matches for the first time in the club's history. body check tags ::
