Marco Silva wants additions to his Fulham squad.placeholder image
Marco Silva wants additions to his Fulham squad. | Getty Images
Brighton and Manchester United take on Fulham in the opening weekends of Premier League action.
Fulham manager Marco Silva has confirmed that left-back Antonee Robinson will not be fit for the start of the Premier League season this weekend in a boost to Brighton and Manchester United given his importance to the London side.
The Cottagers begin their Premier League campaign with a trip to the AMEX Stadium to take on Brighton on Saturday, August 16. Fulham will then host Manchester United at Craven Cottage on Sunday, August 24 before making the short trip to west London rivals Chelsea.
Robinson made 36 appearances in the top flight last season in another head-turning campaign. The 27-year-old picked up 10 assists from defence and is a big presence in the Fulham team both in defence and in attack.
Fulham to be without Antonee Robinson for start of Premier League season
The United States international has not played a single minute of pre-season action having had surgery on his knee in May. It had been hoped that the player would be fit for the start of competitive action but Silva has now confirmed that is not the case. Following his side’s 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt over the weekend, Silva said: “Jedi is not ready.”
Silva labelled the player as ‘brilliant’ last season, praising the full-back after one performance in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool. He said: “What a performance. It’s really difficult to find one moment where he wasn’t at a really high level.
“Not easy to come here playing against a player like Salah, the way normally they like to expose the left-back. We took that risk, to go one-v-one, many times. He was so brave, he was so assertive, he was so aggressive in the right way and he did it so, so well.
Robinson labelled ‘brilliant’ by Marco Silva
“He’s improving so, so quick in some things. I know him very well from Everton, but the way he’s improving in some set-ups, defensive set-ups, being much more brave in the way he faces one-v-one situations, the way he goes inside the spaces as well. And of course, again, two assists from a full-back at Anfield shows the quality that he has. I remember some seasons ago, even last season, many people were talking about his decision making, but already he’s the player from our team with more assists for sure.
“Being clear, what a performance from him. What a performance. Brilliant, unbelievable performance from him, and I told him at the end of the game that he has to be really proud.”
Fulham are also sweating the fitness of defender Ryan Sessegnon after he was withdrawn early against Eintracht Frankfurt. Silva was tight-lipped on what that problem could be but did say: “He felt something. Let's see in the next few hours or few days how he reacts. We'll do some exams on him. Let's hope that he can be ready for the beginning of the season.”
In other news, Alan Shearer predicts where Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, West Ham and Crystal Palace will finish in 25-26 Premier League table.
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