Frank issues Henry injury update | OneFootball

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has given an update on defender Rico Henry, who has been out injured with a knee problem since September.

And, after Henry revealed he will hopefully "be back on the grass in a couple of weeks", Frank spoke about the left-back's recovery ahead of next season.

“[Henry's] progress is going forward," Frank stated. "He’s out for the season but it’s looking good that, when we start pre-season, he should be ready to join in 100 per cent, which is the main bit for me, for now.

“So, hopefully, he can come back fit and firing ready for next season.”

Speaking about next term, he added: “Even in a season where we haven’t been through the roof, there’s still been some good performances. There’s a good foundation for us to go into next season and I’m very excited about that - I know we need to finish this season first!

“The key players, when they’ve played, have performed well: Christian [Nørgaard], Ethan [Pinnock], Mathi [Jensen], Vitaly [Janelt], who I think has actually added an extra layer this year.

“Nathan Collins’ first season, he has done well. He did well after his injury, now he’s going up again. All the minutes and games he’s played have been hugely important.

“Kristoffer Ajer, stepped forward. Yoane Wissa, stepped forward. They are just the players off the top of my head.

“But maybe the most important thing is the fantastic culture at this club, and the strategy and the coolness from the ownership - Matthew [Benham], one of the best in the world - Phil Giles, Lee Dykes and Jon Varney.”

However, as Frank mentioned, the Bees need to finish the current campaign first, which involves a west London derby at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday - the penultimate home game of the season.

And the head coach is looking forward to facing the Cottagers, in a game that he acknowledges is a big match for the staff, the players and the supporters.

“Marco Silva and his coaching staff have done a good job, together with the players," said Frank.

“I think they’ve had a good season, a stable season, in many ways, after saying goodbye to [Aleksandar] Mitrović and finding the next one, because he was such an important player for them, he scored so many goals.

"They started with different solutions, but it now seems that it's Rodrigo Muniz's position - for them it must be fantastic, 22 years old, they bought him three years ago, that's a very successful story.

"I like the way they play, it's always a very good game against them. And it's a derby, it means a lot for the fans, and it means a lot for us as well.

"We're really looking forward to it."