‘He is getting better’ - Fulham boss offers major Aleksandar Mitrovic update ahead of Newcastle United reunion

The Serbian will miss Fulham’s Premier League clash with Chelsea tonight through suspension having picked up his fifth booking last time out against Leicester City. However, this may work in Fulham’s favour with Mitrovic given an extra few days to nurse a foot injury that has hampered him since the first international break of the season.

Mitrovic, who has 11 goals for the Cottagers this season, didn’t feature in Fulham’s FA Cup win over Hull City at the weekend, meaning he will have had 11 days to nurse his injury before he faces his old club on Sunday. Marco Silva has revealed that his talisman is slowly getting back to full-fitness and is hopeful he can be ‘even better’ in the next few games, starting against Newcastle on Sunday.

Silva said: “He is getting better and better and better. Now he is training every single day with his team-mates.

“After the matches we don’t need a long time to recover him from the game before. All these things are a good sign for us and that we are going to have him even better in the next few games.”

On Sunday, Mitrovic and co will be aiming to be the first team to score past Nick Pope since Romain Perraud’s late consolation goal for Southampton on November 6. Since that game, Pope has kept seven clean sheets in a row with Newcastle boasting the best defensive record in the Premier League having conceded just 11 goals all season.