Bees boss hopeful over McEachran injury

Brentford boss Dean Smith is hopeful Josh McEachran’s injury is not as serious as first feared after he was stretchered off in the 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

The midfielder was treated by the physios from both teams during an extended period of added-on time at the end of the first half after suffering an ankle injury.

But Smith said the former Chelsea man was in good spirits after the game and his injury will be assessed.

“It was a kick on the ankle, he felt a sharp whack on it,” Smith said.

“He’s had a couple of cracks in the foot so his fear was that at first. He’s got a medical boot on [but] he seems a lot happier, certainly than he was at half-time, so we’re hoping it’s not as serious as we first thought.”

Smith also revealed that Lasse Vibe was left out of the travelling party due to a thigh niggle picked up in training, joining fellow striker Philipp Hofmann (back) on the treatment table.

However, in a boost to the Bees, Rico Henry made his long-awaited debut after six months out with a shoulder injury and Smith was pleased with the 19-year-old’s contribution at left-back, as well as his team’s overall display.

He said: “I thought it was time to put Rico out there. He played an hour for the B team last week and he’s looked really good in training. It was an assured performance – the kid’s got no nerves.

“I thought first half we were excellent. We passed it well, our movement was good, we controlled the ball and controlled the game.

“The last 15 minutes was very tough because they were throwing everything into the box and they’ve had a number of chances where they probably should have scored.

“It was our day today.”