Davies glad to see AJ back

Fulham midfielder Simon Davies is pleased to see the return of knee injury victim Andrew Johnson to the first-team.

Johnson has made just 13 appearances for the Cottagers in the past two seasons, missing the business end of the team’s stunning run to the Europa League final last campaign.

The 29-year-old’s return comes at a good time for Mark Hughes’ side, following the long-term lay-off of talisman Bobby Zamora.

The England international has been in training for the West London side for several weeks now, and Davies has been impressed with what he has seen.
Sharp

“He’s looking sharp,” Davies told the club’s official website.

“I’ve been talking to AJ a lot because I was out for a long time last season and he was asking me, ‘did you feel this tired when you came back?’

“When you first come back in, the adrenalin gets you back training and then you realise how hard that is every day. Then come the games, you can train as much as you want but you need the games, whether they’re reserve or First Team games, to get the minutes under your belt and get your confidence back.

“You build up and get your strength and stamina back from that. The main thing is that his knee isn’t giving him a problem so if we can get him back fit and firing he’ll be like a new signing.

“The manager wants to try and get behind teams and that’s AJ’s strength, he loves running the channels and when he’s fit, he’s as quick as anything. So I think it’ll be perfect for him and he’ll be another great option to have.”