Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney could be set to return after a long absence in a London derby against Queens Park Rangers tomorrow afternoon, according to Marco Silva.

The 30-year-old has been absent from the Cottagers' squad since December 2020 after suffering a knee injury which has taken almost 10 months to fully recover from.

Cairney joined Fulham in 2015 from Blackburn Rovers and he's played in at least 30 league games in every season for the club - that was until his setback last season.

The two-cap Scotland international finally returned to training recently and was pictured for the first time in a session last week, meaning that his return was close.

Instead of going down the route of featuring for the under-23 squad though to build up his match fitness, Cairney is set to be thrown in at the deep end this weekend.

Whilst it's very unlikely that he will start, it has been revealed by head coach Silva that Cairney will be 'involved' in the match, presumably from the substitutes bench where he will likely get a second half cameo.

The Verdict

Despite Fulham already having a plethora of talented midfielders, Cairney offers something different.

Not only does he bring experience but Cairney has always been a goal threat from the attacking midfield role for the Cottagers in the Championship.

And with teenager Fabio Carvalho still yet to return from a foot injury, Cairney's return could be coming at the best time possible with Fulham not being on the best of runs right now.

It'll take time for Cairney to be fully match-fit but his inclusion in tomorrow's squad is a positive and how fitting would it be if he scored the winning goal against the Hoops?