Brentford injury news: Keith Andrews delivers double fitness update ahead of Everton fixture

Brentford head coach Keith Andrews has provided an injury update on Aaron Hickey and Vitaly Janelt ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton.

The Bees are set to resume their European qualification bid in Saturday’s home clash with Everton, three weeks after playing out a goalless draw in their most recent outing against Leeds United.

While they have drawn their last three matches, the seventh-placed side are sitting just three points adrift of the Champions League places with seven matches left to play.

Brentford boss Keith Andrews will have as many players at his disposal as possible in what could be a memorable run-in for the European hopefuls.

However, Andrews is expected to be without the services of Hickey and Janelt for Saturday’s meeting with the Toffees at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Hickey, Janelt set to miss Everton clash

"Aaron is closer than Vitaly, for sure," Andrews said in Friday’s pre-match press conference.

"Aaron's probably not going to make Saturday, but he's not too far away, he's been training with the group this week.

"Vitaly will probably be a bit further away. It's a different type of injury and a different length. I don't know exactly how many weeks... but it'll be a good few weeks away, I imagine."

Hickey and Janelt have both been out of action since February’s defeat to Brighton due to hamstring and foot injuries respectively.

The pair are joined on the sidelines by Rico Henry, Josh Dasilva, Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo.

Andrews more cautious than Moyes over European bid

While Everton boss David Moyes has been content to discuss Everton's European aspirations, Andrews has been cautious in the way he has spoken about Brentford's bid to play in one of the three UEFA competitions.

“He’s (Moyes) been around the block a bit more than I have, so he’s probably a little more used to these questions,” Andrews said.

“For him, it’s obviously speaking about his club and his players. When it comes to us and what our ambition is, it’s to achieve as much as we can. That’s the reality.

"We go into every game trying to win. Obviously, it doesn’t always materialise, but we want to be ambitious.

“We want to strive to create something really, really special, but if you lose sight of the next game and you start thinking of what the table will look like come the 24th of May, you can go slightly in the wrong direction, I think.”

Brentford are aiming to complete a league double over Everton after running out 4-2 winners in January's reverse fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium.