Fulham head coach Marco Silva says Joao Palhinha has suffered a “serious” injury, believed to be a dislocated shoulder.
The midfielder was hurt at the end of the first half of the Cottagers’ 3-2 victory over Brentford in Philadelphia, in their opening match of the Premier League Summer Series.
Palhinha was a key figure last season as Fulham finished 10th, with the Portugal international making a league-high 147 tackles, so a long spell on the sidelines would represent a major blow.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good,” Silva told the club’s official website. “It’s serious, but let’s hope it’s not too serious.
“It’s his shoulder, probably dislocated. Tomorrow he’s going to do a scan and it will be more clear for me to update you on the situation. Let’s hope it’s not another long-term injury for us.”
Latest on Mitrovic
Fulham’s top goalscorer last season, Aleksandar Mitrovic, was absent from Fulham’s matchday squad amid reports that the Serbian striker wants to move to Saudi Arabia.
“I spoke with the board – no updates about Mitrovic,” said Silva. “A player that is not training, and is not in the picture with his team-mates, is not going to play.
“It’s easy for me to decide. If he trains with his team-mates, he’s going to play matches. If he’s not training with his teammates, he’s not going to play.
“Of course, if Mitrovic is my player I would like him to train, to be involved in all the moments with the team. You know that, that I would like to have him participating in all the moments with the team.”
While Silva has concerns about members of his squad, he was pleased with his side’s win over Brentford, which came courtesy of goals from Harry Wilson, Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Carlos Vinicius.
“It was good, a really competitive match,” said Silva. “I think the fans enjoyed it.
“I saw good things, great goals, the first two goals were great goals. The way we started the first half was really good, really good.
“We expected strong pressure from a good Brentford side. The way we played through the pressure, we tried to beat the pressure every time, with enough courage to do it.
“I’m pleased with some of the things that I saw. There are things to improve, as always, and we have to keep going.
“I think it’s really good for the players to play this Summer Series against Premier League sides.
“If you play these types of games, with a different atmosphere in the stadium, it can help them, and help us as well as coaches. It was a good experience.”
Fulham are next in action in the Summer Series against Aston Villa on Wednesday in Orlando.
