Transfer target Joao Palhinha suffered a shoulder injury in Fulham’s 3-2 win over Brentford in the Premier League Summer Series.
West Ham had a bid worth up to £45m for Palhinha rejected this summer, with Fulham valuing the midfielder at £80m.
The in-demand Portugal international, who plays at centre-back, was forced off after injuring his shoulder in an innocuous challenge with Yoane Wissa in the first half.
Fulham boss Marco Silva admitted the injury “doesn’t look too bad” although said further assessment was needed. Palhinha was later seen carrying his arm.
Silva is also without striker Aleksandar Mitrovic as the striker watches from the sidelines amid a stand-off over a potential move to Al Hilal.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid (centre) celebrates after his goal for Fulham with Harrison Reed (right) and Sasa Lukic (left)
Harry Wilson opened the scoring in just the third minute with a superb curling effort from outside the box before Wissa tapped in an equalizer from a corner.
However, Bobby De Cordova-Reid found the bottom corner before the break and Carlos Vinicius extended Fulham’s lead with an accurate finish two minutes into the second half.
Carlos Vinicius celebrates his victory for Fulham against Brentford in the Premier League Summer Series
Kristoffer Ajer scored just two minutes later to reduce the deficit but Brentford could not force another equaliser.
The Premier League Summer Series fixtures are still to be played
Wednesday July 26
Brentford v Brighton, kick-off 10:30pm BST (Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Atlanta, GA)
Thursday July 27
Fulham v Aston Villa, kick-off 12am BST (Exploria Stadium; Orlando, FL)
Newcastle United v Chelsea, kick-off 1.15am BST (Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Atlanta, GA)
Saturday July 29
Brighton vs Newcastle United, kick-off 12:30am BST (Red Bull Arena; Harrison, New Jersey)
Sunday July 30
Aston Villa v Brentford, kick-off 5pm BST (FedExField; Landover, Maryland)
Chelsea v Fulham, kick-off 7:45pm BST (FedExField; Landover, Maryland)
How to watch free Premier League highlights
Throughout the 2023/24 season, you can watch Premier League match highlights for free – without Sky Sports subscriber.
You can see highlights from every Premier League game at the Score Center, as well as at Sky Sports website and Sky Sports app shortly after full-time, or from 5.15 pm for Saturday’s noon kick-off. You can also view them at Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.
Sign up for Premier League goal alerts
The Premier League drama keeps on coming – make sure you don’t miss a thing by signing up for goal alerts with the Sky Sports Score Center app.
Want news of goals as they hit the back of the net? Want to know when your team’s free match highlights are available? In a game but want to track all the big incidents elsewhere?
It’s simple – just set up goal alerts and other notifications on Sky Sports Football Score Centre app.
Not yet added the Score Center App? Download it for iOS devices or Android.
