Brentford are sweating over the fitness of Kevin Schade after he was forced off with a shoulder injury during their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. The Bees continued their unbeaten start to the season as Kristoffer Ajer struck late to secure a point at Villa Park, but the outing was not without frustration.
Schade was forced off early in the second half after falling awkwardly before the break, while Jannik Schuster was also forced to come off after 45 minutes. The injuries come at a bad time, with Liverpool due to visit west London on Saturday.
Schade to undergo further assessment
Speaking post-match, Keith Andrews confirmed Schade is set for further assessment in Osterley to ascertain the severity of the injury. "He probably wasn't right at half-time, he wanted to give it a go," the Irishman explained. "He's picked up a shoulder injury so we'll see how he is in the next few days."
The summer signing Schuster, meanwhile, was hooked in favour of Aaron Hickey at the break, and Andrews confirmed the Austrian had started in Birmingham in spite of an ankle injury picked up in training. "Jannik picked up a knock during the week," Andrews added. "He didn't quite look amazing in training yesterday, how he was moving. It felt similar today in the warm-up. There was just a little incident with his ankle, so I thought it was the right decision just to take him out of the firing line."
Andrews reflects on the Villa clash
Were it not for the injuries, Andrews wondered if Brentford might have taken more away from the Villa clash. He added: "I liked a lot today - spirit, grit, determination. There was evidence of rustiness which is understandable but I don't like to use that as an excuse but the boys have been away for three weeks so it's trying to find the balance.
"Then we had Kevin's [Schade] injury, Jannik [Schuster] wasn't right and came off at half time, so we got tested today. But we're also up against a team who I thought were just starting to click before the international break. But the fact that we're disappointed coming away from home to a Champions League team who spend big money tells you a lot."
