Alex Iwobi in line for Fulham debut against Luton after £22m signing ignores nagging injury

The former Arsenal midfielder joined the Cottagers from Everton for £22million on transfer deadline day and is now almost fully fit ahead of Premier League side Luton’s visit to Craven Cottage SATURDAY.

Iwobi passed his medical at Fulham despite having a hamstring injury since the end of August. He was not fit enough to play in the 5-1 defeat at Manchester City before the international break, then missed Nigeria’s 6-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over Sao Tome and -Principle Sunday.

Fulham boss Marco Silva reintroduced Iwobi to training on Tuesday after the club’s second most expensive signing of all time opted to prioritize a return to the top flight. Silva is expected to confirm Iwobi’s availability during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

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

The Cottagers’ reigning player of the year flew to Germany on deadline day but saw his planned move to Bayern Munich collapse, causing him to miss the heavy defeat 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 to secure their second league win of the campaign so far.