Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has stated that he will find a solution to the full-back conundrum left by Rico Henry's knee injury, which has ruled him out for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign. 

Henry has only missed five Premier League matches since August 2021 and played every minute at left-back for Frank's side this season, prior to picking up the knock against Newcastle United last weekend.

And, despite acknowledging how much of a blow Henry's absence is, the Bees boss is confident that he has the quality in his squad to fill the gap left by the 26-year-old.

Frank said: “It’s a big loss for us, he’s a key player, there’s no doubt about that. Mostly I feel for him, I think he's done so well so far this season, fantastic.  

“In my opinion, I’m not the head coach of the national team of England, but he must’ve been very close to being picked for Euro 2024 - that's, of course, out of the question now.  

“Unfortunately, that's part of football. We will find a solution and make sure we put 11 good players out there and a good team out there this weekend.”

When asked how he plans on replacing Henry in the starting XI, the Dane added: “Rico is a very good player so, one to one, we don't have someone to replace him.  

“When you take one player out, because every player is different, every player has got their own personality and style, that does something to the overall style of the team and the way we play. 

“The deep runs and the balls in behind for him can’t be the same, but then other players will come into the team, change the dynamics slightly, and hopefully they can be as good or maybe better, you never know!

"The dynamic of the team will just change a tiny bit, but the overall style should stay the same.” 

With Aaron Hickey expected to move over to left-back, there will be an opportunity for the likes of Mads Roerslev and Kristoffer Ajer to get more minutes on the right-hand side this term.

And Frank confirmed that the latter is available for Saturday's game against Everton after missing the Newcastle clash, but it's touch and go whether Mikkel Damsgaard will feature against the Toffees.

Henry and loanee Maupay - who can't play against his parent club - are the only players unavailable from last weekend's squad.

“Kristoffer is fully fit and available for tomorrow," Frank confirmed.

“Damsgaard still has a little bit of niggling going on so maybe he’ll be available, maybe not."