Fulham captain Cairney unlikely to return this season

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Tom Cairney is set to miss the rest of the season.

For the first time, Scott Parker has admitted the odds are stacked against the Fulham captain making any kind of appearance over the final nine games of the campaign.


Cairney hasn’t played since December 19 as he battles a knee injury initially picked up in a pre-season friendly.

The midfielder has been in and out of modified training ever since, but he’s now set for a new course of injections recommended by a specialist.

Whites boss Parker said: “You’re getting to that point in the season, you’re also getting to that point with Tom where he’s been out for some time now and the issue is still ongoing.

“So, of course there’s that fear, definitely (that his season is over). He has managed to be able to train, come off it, train, come off it.

“But this is an ongoing issue and time is against him with nine games to go.

“This course of injections we hope speeds up the healing process. That’s what a specialist has recommended we do over the next week or 10 days and then we’ll build up again and see if we’ve made some steps forward.”

Parker revealed something of the 30-year-old’s frustration as he’s been forced to watch his team-mates battle Premier League relegation for the second time in three seasons.

Parker explained: “He’s gutted because the last time we were in this division he showed his quality but we were relegated.

“This time he got an early run of games, but again has not been able to show his quality in a division he’s tried his whole life to get into.”