Cameroon star Bryan Mbeumo will be racing against the clock to recover in time for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after sustaining an ankle injury on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old winger opened the scoring for Brentford from the penalty spot in the 27th minute, but was forced off before half-time in their 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Amex after rolling his ankle.
Bees head coach Thomas Frank confirmed on Thursday that Mbeumo will miss the trip to Sheffield United on Saturday and is expected to be ruled out “for weeks”.
The former France youth international featured for the Indomitable Lions at the 2022 World Cup and hopes to make his AFCON debut in Ivory Coast early next year.
Rigobert Song’s side were drawn in Group C alongside defending champions Senegal, Guinea and Gambia, with their first match taking place on January 15 against the Scorpions.
But Frank cast doubt on Mbeumo’s participation at the continental showpiece, saying: “He rolled his ankle. It is bad – I don’t know how bad. We don’t have the exact number of weeks.
“He will definitely be out for Saturday [away at Sheffield United] and for weeks. We need to do everything we can to recover well, and there is also some bad luck in it.
“[An injury for] Bryan is just bad luck. He gets caught and rolls his ankle. Very frustrating, of course, but I am a positive guy.
“Football is such a marginal game. Hit the post, inside the post, outside the post, deflection: there are so many things you can’t control, like injuries.”
