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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

Alex Iwobi vying for Fulham debut against Luton after £22m signing shrugs off lingering injury

Alex Iwobi is in contention to make his Fulham debut after returning to training this week.

The former Arsenal midfielder joined the Cottagers from Everton for £22million on transfer deadline day and is now close to full fitness ahead of Luton’s Premier League visit to Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Iwobi passed his medical at Fulham despite having carried a hamstring injury since late August. He wasn't fit enough to play in the 5-1 defeat away at Manchester City before the international break and then sat out Nigeria’s 6-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying win against Sao Tome and Principe on Sunday.

Fulham boss Marco Silva re-introduced Iwobi into training on Tuesday after the club's second most expensive signing of all time opted to prioritise his return to top-flight action. Silva is expected to confirm Iwobi's availability at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

Debut looming: New signing Alex Iwobi could make his first Fulham appearance against Luton (Getty Images)

Star midfielder Joao Palhinha played for Portugal during the international break and is expected to also be available for Fulham against newly-promoted Luton, who have lost all three of their games so far since earning a first Premier League promotion via the play-offs last term.

The Cottagers’ reigning player of the year flew to Germany on deadline day, only to see his proposed move to Bayern Munich collapse, causing him to miss the heavy loss at City. Midfielder Sasa Lukic has a knee problem and is Fulham's only real injury doubt ahead of Saturday as Silva’s side look for their second league win of the campaign so far.

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