Keith Andrews has confirmed that Mathias Jensen will miss Brentford’s match against Sunderland, with the head coach saying the midfielder has “a little issue” and will be unavailable this week and possibly next week. It is a setback for Brentford, but the broader picture from the latest team-news update is more positive, with no fresh injury concerns coming out of the trip to Leeds.
Andrews was clear on Jensen’s status when asked about the squad for Brentford Vs Sunderland. “No, he won’t be back,” he said. “He has a little issue. He’ll miss this week and possibly next week.”
Jensen out for tomorrow
That means Brentford will have to manage without one of their established options for the immediate challenge against Sunderland. Andrews did not suggest the problem is serious, but he did make clear that Jensen will not be available for tomorrow’s game.
“We’ll see how he settles over the next couple of weeks. It’s nothing serious, but he certainly won’t be available for tomorrow,” he said. For Brentford, the message is simple: this is a short-term absence rather than a longer-term issue, but it still removes another experienced player from the mix at a busy point in the schedule.
Positive signs after Leeds
Brentford’s preparation for the Sunderland game has also been shaped by what happened at Leeds earlier this week. Josh Dasilva sustained a hamstring injury in the Brentford Under-21s’ 5-1 win over Sunderland, and Andrews said that will keep him out until the international break.
“The usual knocks and bruises, as you’d imagine with the level of game we had at Leeds,” he said. “The players have recovered well and trained well. We’re in a really good place.”
Andrews added that Dasilva’s setback is frustrating because he is still working his way back to the level and intensity required. “It’s nothing too serious, but it’s obviously disappointing for him as he’s making his way back to that type of level, intensity and the performance levels he needs to get to,” he said. “That takes a little bit of time from where he’s been and the time out he’s had. It’s disappointing for him, we’re disappointed, but we’ll keep going and keep pushing Josh to get back to that level.”
Van den Berg and Milambo moving closer
There is better news elsewhere in the Brentford squad. Andrews said Sepp van den Berg is making “really good progress” and has been back on the grass for the last week or 10 days. The expectation is that he can return after the international break, which the head coach described as “realistic.”
Antoni Milambo is also moving forward. Andrews said he looked “really good” and was “moving well” before being involved in an 11 v 11 on Wednesday for the first time at that scale and intensity. He then trained with Brentford again this morning, with the club planning to involve him in a B-team game over the next couple of weeks.
That leaves Brentford in a fairly steady position overall, even with Jensen missing this week. The immediate focus is Sunderland, but the longer view suggests Van den Berg and Milambo are edging back into contention, with more movement expected after the international break.
