Thomas Frank listed Sergi Canos and Kristoffer Ajer among the absentees for Brentford’s trip to Fulham this weekend while also confirming summer signing Mikkel Damsgaard is some way off claiming a starting spot.

The Bees are still riding the high of last weekend’s 4-0 thumping of Manchester United which came despite the lack of several key first team members. 

Ahead of tomorrow's West London derby at Craven Cottage, the Brentford boss addressed the injury concerns within the squad and sought to manage the expectations of Bees fans eagerly awaiting a first glimpse of the latest Danish acquisition. 

“Ajer and Canos are getting closer,” Frank said of two of last season’s most frequent starters forced to watch on from the sidelines with hamstring issues. 

“It’s still too soon for the Fulham game but it’s a fit and available squad from last week.

“It’s been a good week for Damsgaard but he’s not yet fit to start a Premier League game.

“I’m very aware that Damsgaard is a player that I’m impatient to play and get him on the pitch.

“But, for me, he’s the type of player we need to make sure is looking good in the long run. 

“Not that he can’t look very good in the short run or the short-term, but he needs to be built correctly.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakout European Championships last summer which attracted the attention of many of Europe’s elite sides. 

However, with a serious arthritis issue which scared off many of those aforementioned clubs - and allowed Brentford to secure his signature for just shy of £17 million from Serie A side Sampdoria - the manager is keen not to rush the youngster into Premier League action. 

Brentford’s opponents tomorrow afternoon, Fulham, have enjoyed an encouraging start to their latest top-flight campaign, securing a fine 2-2 draw with Liverpool on the opening day before following that result up with a credible goalless draw away at Wolves. 

Frank, who saw his side lose the 2020 play-off final to the Cottagers in their last meeting, stressed the need for this season’s summer arrivals to be given the time to adapt to their new surroundings at Jersey Road. 

“It’s not only with Damsgaard,” he added. 

“We experienced it last year with Ajer coming in from a different club and a lot of players when they come to us, they need to adapt to the intensity we train with.

“That’s Aaron Hickey, that’s Keane [Lewis-Potter], even Ben Mee who has played in the Premier League. 

“We train with a different intensity so the body needs to get used to that and we’re very aware of that.

“It’s about having them fit but not injuring them."