Marco Silva admitted Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey have been “two big misses” for Fulham, with the pair having been absent for the club’s FA Cup and Carabao Cup exits due to Africa Cup of Nations commitments with Nigeria.
Forward Iwobi and defender Bassey were key to Fulham’s success in December, where the Cottagers claimed back-to-back 5-0 victories over West Ham and Nottingham Forest and defeated Arsenal 2-1 on New Year’s Eve.
However, the two summer signings linked up with the Super Eagles earlier this month, helping their country into the AFCON quarter-finals, where they will play Angola on Friday, and were unavailable for Fulham’s Carabao Cup semi-final loss to Liverpool as well as Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the FA Cup.
Silva, speaking ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League visit of Everton, said: “[Iwobi] and Bassey too, they have been two big misses for us.
“They played in the last game against Arsenal, and the team was in a good moment. Bassey was in his best moment since he joined last summer. Alex has been an important player in our attacking line and someone who can play in many positions.”
