Fulham defender Tim Ream has returned to training having spent the last six weeks out of action.
The London Evening Standard report that the American international has recovered enough from his back injury to be involved with the first-team squad ahead of the Watford clash on Saturday.
The 30-year-old sustained the injury towards the end of pre-season and has been a major loss for the start of Fulham’s return to the Premier League.
He was an influential figure as the Cottagers won promotion via the playoffs last season and was voted the club’s Player of the Year.
His presence has been missed so far this term, with Fulham having the worst defence in the league to date.
Slavisa Jokanovic’s men have conceded 12 goals in their five matches, including three at Tottenham Hotspur and three at Manchester City last weekend.
The fact that Jokanovic has rotated his central defensive partnership heavily could be a major contributing factor to that stat, with Alfie Mawson, Denis Odoi, Calum Chambers and Maxime Le Marchand all featuring in that position so far.
This weekend’s home clash with Watford is expected to come too soon for Ream to be in contention, but the American could feature in next Tuesday’s Carabao Cup match with Millwall.
