Marco Silva gave an update on the fitness of three Fulham players ahead of their London derby with Millwall on Tuesday evening, the club tweeted this afternoon.

The Cottagers will arrive at The Den in search of back to back away wins following their resounding 5-1 demolition of Huddersfield Town last Saturday. Millwall are unbeaten with two draws from their season openers, known for their resolute defending and strong home record the Lions will not fear the newly relegated side.

Silva gave the supporters a boost with this injury update.

He said: "Harrison (Reed) has started training with us, we'll decide if he'll be involved. TC (Tom Cairney) and Knocks (Anthony Knockaert) are still in the same situation."

The recovery of these three players would give the team a significant boost, particularly Reed and Cairney in central midfield.

The former was one of their standout names in earning promotion back to the Premier League in 2019/20, a cultured ball playing midfielder who is capable of dictating games at Championship level and can give his teammates a licence to express themselves in the attacking third, by adopting the deepest role in front of the defence.

Cairney has achieved promotion from the second tier twice already with Fulham and therefore his expertise on and off the pitch could be crucial this season. Josh Onomah has taken up a role with far more defensive responsibilities than he would have usually been accustomed to in previous seasons in the Cottagers' opening couple of games.

The Verdict

Especially Harrison Reed's return will have a significant impact on Fulham's starting eleven. Giving Silva the option of deploying just one player as a pivot and allowing Onomah to play further forward, where he was so effective in the 2019/20 season.

At the moment, in the wake of Saturday's victory, all seems rosy and the Cottagers are expected to cruise into the automatic promotion spots, however tougher times and runs will come to pass and their current midfield of luxurious attack minded players may not be robust enough for the challenge.

In Jean-Michael Seri and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa they boast majestic players at second tier level, but Cairney and Reed have been there and done it before, therefore adding value to the first team picture.