Marcus Bettinelli will miss Fulham’s first Championship match of the new season against Norwich City tomorrow with a pulled hamstring.
The former England under-21 international goalkeeper was substituted as a precaution having felt his hamstring tighten during last weekend’s 3-0 friendly defeat by Wolfsburg. Head coach Slavisa Jokanovic revealed during this afternoon’s press conference at Motspur Park that Bettinelli would not be available for selection – and his place against the Canaries will be taken by former Brentford goalkeeper David Button. Jokanovic confirmed that ‘everyone else will be available’.
The Serbian was excited about the potential of French striker Aboubakar Kamara, who arrived from Amiens earlier this week.
‘We have been talking about strikers since we were without Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembele. Kamara is a young player with great ambition. He’s strong and fast. We expect he will be an important player for us.
Jokanovic did warn that the new signing would need time to acclimatise to the demands of Championship football.
All the people need time to adapt themselves to a different style of life and competition. It’s different. He’s a player that can attack the space behind the defenders and can be a very important player for us.
Jokanovic also moved to downplay stories of a recruitment row between him and Fulham’s senior executives – and insisted Sone Aluko would be staying at Craven Cottage.
I’m happy with my team and the players. They are working hard and we’re showing ambition to try and make a good season in front of us. We are ready for the Norwich game.
I believe he will. I said last week I believe he’s an important player for us. I expect he’ll be a part of us for the season.
The Fulham head coach was in no doubt about the level of performance he expects from his players tomorrow.
What’s important is to play at our highest level now and pick up three points tomorrow. Our final target is promotion. Norwich is a quality team, but we’re playing in our stadium, in front of our fans. We are very motivated.
Last season is last season. The play-offs are in the past. I’m just looking at the present and the future.
