Marco Silva admits injuries in Everton stalemate could leave Fulham short of numbers

Fulham head coach Marco Silva expects his squad to be stretched to the limit after Raul Jimenez and Issa Diop were both forced off with hamstring injuries in Tuesday’s goalless draw against Everton.

Harry Wilson is set to miss up to three weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in the FA Cup defeat to Newcastle, and Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey are still at the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Fulham are yet to make a signing this January, with little time remaining before the transfer window closes on Thursday.

“When you have an issue with the hamstring, to come off is not a good sign,” said Silva in relation to Jimenez and Diop.

“We’ve played three games in seven days, very intense games, and there is always a risk there.

“In some moments, it is possible to rotate. For us, it has not been easy to rotate some players. This is the type of risk we have to take.

“We were short before the game in terms of numbers, with some kids on the bench too. We are probably going to be even shorter for the next games, but this is our reality and we have to keep working with the players that we have.”

Fulham have been linked with signing a striker throughout the January window, with reports suggesting they are interested in bringing in Chelsea’s Armando Broja before the deadline passes.

However, Silva would have liked Fulham to have conducted their business earlier in the month, ahead of their historic EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

“Am I expecting many things before the end of the market? No,” he said.

“I have been honest from the beginning of the window. With the decisive games we had before this one, if it was possible to do something we should have done something at the beginning of the window.

“Of course, the board is trying to do their best but I do not expect many things before the end of the window.”

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD