Key Brentford forward Jota made his return from injury in a behind-closed-doors friendly earlier today. The Spaniard came on at half time and found the back of the net in the game with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 24-year-old, who moved to Griffin Park in August 2014 for an undisclosed fee from La Liga side Celta Vigo, has been out of action since August after suffering ankle ligament damage. Picking up that injury on the opening day of the season has left a hole in the Brentford forward line, although the likes of loan signing Jon Swift have certainly helped fill that void. He played his part in today’s 4-1 victory over their Spurs counterparts, and there was other good news for Head Coach Lee Carsley as well.
In addition to Jota, midfielder Josh McEachran got another hour under his belt as he makes his own return from injury. He’ll be hoping to break back into the first team in the next few weeks. Sam Saunders is another building up his fitness and he too gained more match-time. He has made the bench in recent weeks, so is perhaps ahead of the other injured players.
.@KingJota marked his comeback with a goal as a Brentford XI beat @SpursOfficial 4-1 in a training ground friendly. pic.twitter.com/BvzlfPJNAL
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) November 23, 2015
The likes of Sergi Canos, Konstantin Kerschbaumer, Andy Gogia and Jack O’Connell, who have all found it difficult for regular first-team football in recent times, also took to the field and kept their match fitness ticking along just nicely. Liverpool loan man Canos also helped himself to two well-taken goals inside the first fifteen minutes, after scoring off the bench for the first-team on Saturday.
However the return of Jota will be a big boost to the Bees. He reached double figures last season and was set for a big season. He’ll be hoping to have a big part in the season still, probably targeting the Christmas schedule as a realistic chance to make his return to first-team action. He was one of the standout performers in the Championship last season, and played a big part in helping Mark Warburton’s Brentford reach the play-offs.
