Brentford manager Thomas Frank has opened up in his latest press conference ahead of this weekend's clash with Aston Villa.

After wins against West Ham United and Leicester City and a draw against Everton, the Bees now welcome Villa to the Gtech Community Stadium as they aim to narrow the gap to 1 point between the two sides. Frank first provided positive updates on Mathias Jensen and Christian Nørgaard.

“Nørgaard is back, which we expected after the concussion precaution,” said Frank.

“And Mathias Jensen will be involved in the squad as well, so that’s very positive.”

Frank then praised Aaron Hickey who scored the first goal in Brentford Under-21s' 2-0 win over Birmingham City Under-21s last week. However, stressed the need for patience after such a long spell on the sidelines and said his time on the pitch will come.

“I’m pleased with that,” said Frank. “He will not be involved in this game or the next one (Bournemouth) – we are looking at after the international break. We need to take it step by step. With him and Rico (Henry) we need to build the robustness.”

Frank also revealed that defender Sepp van den Berg will train with the squad next week. He also confirmed that Rico Henry is in full training, while Gustavo (Nunes), Igor (Thiago) and Josh (Dasilva) are all running.