Marco Silva hints at new Fulham injury concern - would be huge blow for Cottagers
.png?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Fulham put three past Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening with Rodrigo Muniz the star of the show.
Fulham manager Marco Silva heaped praise on star striker Rodrigo Muniz as the Brazilian plundered in his sixth and seventh goals in his last seven fixtures to spearhead Fulham to a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage.
The Fulham boss did admit that Muniz had come off the pitch with a slight hamstring injury during the second half. For his second goal, the striker had to stretch to poke the ball over the line following a free-kick and was in clear pain as he grimaced before celebrating.
Silva said: "What a performance again. Unfortunately, he was feeling a bit tired in the legs and the hamstring as well. It was a moment for us not to take risks with him. It's difficult to mention just him. When a striker scores again and gets two goals, I understand. It's not just the goals, it's how improving and the hard work he's been putting in every week.
"It's a great feeling for me as a manager. I pushed the football club to buy him two years ago when I first joined the go - myself and my staff saw something in him that felt he was the right player to join the club. First season was okay, last season didn't work out for him but from the pre-season, we felt that he was going in the right direction. He never gave up, even in moments he wasn't involved in the squad."
Raul Jimenez also returned to the Fulham side on Saturday, picking up minutes from the bench in place of Muniz. The Mexican might have expected to walk back into the side a few weeks ago but now faces tough competition for the striking role - Armando Broja was also not in the squad but the Fulham boss suggested he was dropped rather than injured.
Silva said: "It's a good thing and shows the work we have been doing. It's a great feeling in this moment of the season after a tough December and January, to have all of our squad available the last two weeks. It's difficult for me to leave some players out the squad list. We have Ballo-Toure and Armando Broja, they were not in the squad list.
"The competition is really hard right now. It's a good headache for me to decide as well. It's going to be tough for players to keep a place in not just the XI and the squad list. It's very good for Fulham Football Club."