Jansson ‘touch and go’ for return as Frank considers changes

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Brentford captain Pontus Jansson could return to the side for the Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

Jansson missed the 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday due to a foot injury but is pushing for a return to the starting 11 after recovering from the problem.

Boss Thomas Frank could also welcome back Kristoffer Ajer into the squad for the first time this season.


Ajer last week played his first game since he underwent hamstring surgery in the summer, playing just over an hour and scoring in a win for Brentford’s B team against Millwall’s Under-21s.

“His (Jansson’s) foot is better,” Frank said.

“It will be touch and go as to whether he’s available, but of course we’d like to take our chances on it and if he’s ready he will play.

“Ajer is about fitness. He played his first minutes for the B team and did well so he could be involved but it could also be that we actually want him to play a game or two more before he’s where he should be.”

Brentford will still be without Ethan Pinnock and Sergi Canos, who are recovering from knee and hamstring injuries respectively, while summer signing Mikkel Damsgaard is still not ready to start.

The Denmark international is continuing to build up his fitness after playing just 11 times in Serie A for Sampdoria last season due to suffering with a form of arthritis which kept him out for the majority of the campaign.

But Frank says the midfielder is continuing to make strides forward – also says he is weighing up whether to make changes for the game against Palace.

“It’s the balance between rotating with freshness and energy,” he said.

“How many players can you do it with? Probably five is too much but one is not enough.

“That’s my thinking. Should I freshen up a tiny bit? Plus you still want to go with the team that has done well. So that is the decision I have to make before tomorrow.

“Damsgaard, it will be too early for him to start still in terms of the fitness level for the Premier League and our standards.

“His training yesterday was really good, so that was a step in the right direction.”