Reiss Nelson is still waiting for his Premier League debut at Brentford, with the on-loan winger easing back to fitness after a stop-start opening to the season.
Seven weeks into his loan spell at Brentford, Reiss Nelson is still waiting for his first Premier League appearance, having only made the bench once so far.
The Arsenal winger, who joined the Bees at the start of September in search of regular football, has so far played just 22 minutes of senior action, all of them in the League Cup.
After missing the opening three games of the season with fitness problems and then another week of training through illness, Nelson has struggled to force his way into Keith Andrew’s plans.
He has been named in only one Premier League squad, away at Chelsea on 13 September, and has been left out entirely for the last three league matches with illness cited as the reason.
To build up his fitness, Nelson featured for Brentford’s Under-21s during the week, playing 45 minutes in a 4-0 win over QPR’s development side. Lining up on the left wing, he created one good chance with a cross and drifted centrally at times before being withdrawn at half time in what was described as a planned change.
Brentford confirmed in a club update that Nelson and Gustavo Nunes “came through Brentford Under-21s’ 4-0 win over QPR on Wednesday, playing 45 minutes each. Both are available for selection against West Ham” on Monday evening at the London Stadium.
Whether that translates into a return to the matchday squad, and minutes on the pitch, remains to be seen
For Nelson, who turns 26 in December, fitness issues, illness and competition for places have stalled his start, but Brentford insist he is now back to full fitness, so hopefully his Brentford career can get underway soon.
Nelson will have a year remaining on his Arsenal deal when his loan spell ends.
