Johnson nears Fulham first-team return

Andy Johnson took the first steps on the road to recovery this week by completing 60 minutes in a behind closed doors friendly for Fulham.

The striker has been out since January after damaging his knee against Blackburn and his progress has been halted by a succession of other problems.

But Johnson, capped eight times by England, is now on the comeback trail after playing for Fulham on Wednesday at the club’s Motspur Park training ground.

The 29-year-old played against the Fulham youth team and lasted an hour before he was hauled off and his return to action has come at the right time for Mark Hughes.

Fulham manager Hughes has Bobby Zamora out with a broken leg while Moussa Dembele is also injured but Johnson is now ready to give him a big boost by returning to action in the next few weeks.