Fulham manager Marco Silva has revealed that Fabio Carvalho missed his side's 1-0 defeat at Blackpool on Saturday through injury, while fellow attacker Harry Wilson was rested after his international exploits with Wales.

The Cottagers slipped to their first league defeat of the season at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, courtesy of Josh Bowler's stunning solo effort shortly after half time.

For Fulham however, there may be some who wonder whether things could have been rather different had they had Carvalho and Wilson available, with the duo both absent from the matchday squad on the Seaside.

Now it seems as though Carvalho may be for a bit longer yet, although Wilson's absence may not be an extended one.

Explaining why the pair were not involved for his side against Blackpool, Silva told Fulham's official website: “It’s different situations – Fabio because of his injury in the Hull City game, he did a big effort to play against Stoke but he felt it again the week after. We have to let him recover as much as possible, as fast as we can.

“Harry Wilson was because of his time with his national team, let’s see. Let’s hope he can play the next game.”

Following that defeat to Blackpool, Fulham now sit second in the Championship table, one point behind league leaders West Brom.

Next up for Fulham is a trip to St Andrew's to face fourth placed Birmingham City on Wednesday night.

The Verdict

This will be hugely frustrating for Fulham given the result they were left with at Blackpool on Saturday.

Carvalho in particular has been outstanding for the Cottagers at the start of the season, so could have done plenty of damage against a Blackpool side who were still looking for a first win of the season prior to kick-off.

As a result, there may be something of a sense of what might have been for those of a Fulham persuasion, although there is of course plenty of time for them to recover from that.

Indeed, if Carvalho is to be out for some time, then the fact that Wilson may not be out for too long will of course be a relief, given the impact that he himself has shown he can make in attack for Silva's side.