Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has issued an update on Bryan Mbeumo after he limped off during the Bees' 2-1 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The forward rolled his ankle as he chased back to defend Pascal Groß in the first half at Amex Stadium.

The Cameroon international scored his seventh goal of the season from the penalty spot before he was substituted on Wednesday evening, which was his 11th goal contribution in 15 Premier League games this campaign.

"It is bad," Frank revealed. "He’ll have a scan later, but we don’t know the exact number of weeks he will be out.

"He will definitely not play on Saturday [against Sheffield United], and he will be out for weeks. We will know more in the next couple of days."

Frank added: “[Bryan] must be number two after Ivan [Toney] in terms of goals and assists, which is key.

“His work rate for the team is incredible; you don’t see many wingers who work so hard and mean so much.

“He’s become the key man – 'give me the ball, I’ll take this'. Who will that man be now? We’ll find out in the next weeks.”

Mbeumo is one of eight first-team players currently sidelined with injury, but Frank insisted that he is remaining positive ahead of the Bees’ trip to Bramall Lane on Saturday.

He continued: "Football is such a marginal game – inside of the post, outside of the post, deflection – there are so many things that you can’t control.

"And another thing is injuries. We need to do everything we can to recover well, assess and get players back, but there’s also just bad luck in it.

"Bryan’s injury is a clear one – it’s bad luck. He got caught, got pushed and rolled his ankle. It’s very frustrating, but I’m a positive guy and we’ll find a solution.

"The positive news is that [Mikkel] Damsgaard got minutes [against Brighton] and is looking better and better.

"[Mathias] Jensen will be a decision I need to make in the next 24 hours, whether I want to push him to be ready or be a little more cautious and have him ready for Villa. I will assess him in the next 24 hours."

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