Rico Henry set to make long-awaited return, says Frank

Thomas Frank has confirmed Rico Henry is set to make his long-awaited return to action for Brentford when the Bees take on Plymouth Argyle in tomorrow’s FA Cup third round.

Left back Henry has been sidelined from action since sustaining a serious knee injury at St. James Park during the Bees’ visit to Newcastle United in September 2023.

But Frank has confirmed the full-back will make his long-awaited return to action with a place in the starting eleven set to welcome Plymouth Argyle to the Gtech Community Stadium in the FA Cup third round.

“Rico will be involved in the game tomorrow; not only will he be involved, he will start,” said Frank to club media.

“That’s a big boost for him, us and the fans. He has been good in training; very aggressive as he always is. He played an in-house game and also a friendly with the B team.

“In general, he’s looked good and ready to start. If he wasn’t good enough, we wouldn’t start him.”

Henry has been ever-present for Brentford since joining from Walsall in 2016, with the fullback boasting over 200 appearances for the Bees since his arrival in West London.

And though Frank is delighted to welcome Henry back, the Dane has urged onlookers to be patient with the 27-year-old as he reacclimatises to the team after his lengthy absence.

Frank added: “Rico is the only player that was here when I came more than eight years ago, so it’s a good journey and story we have together.

“It’s the first game, and we need to remember that when players have been out for more than a year, it takes time to get back to a consistent high level in games.

“You only get there by training consistently and playing some minutes, so it’s good to have him back and I want to take it one step at a time.

Frank also confirmed the return of Fábio Carvalho after the Portuguese missed Brentford’s last two games due to a minor groin injury, though Ben Mee remains unavailable alongside Josh Dasilva, Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Igor Thiago, Gustavo Nunes and Aaron Hickey.

Brentford enter the fixture in high spirits after a 5-0 demolition of Southampton in the Premier League and currently sit eleventh in the league table.

Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle played out a goalless draw with Stoke City in their most recent league action and currently find themselves rooted to the bottom of the league standings.