Fulham skipper Danny Murphy says Andy Johnson will be welcomed back for their next Premiership match against Sunderland.

The midfielder told fulhamfc.com: "You'll always miss his pace and his threat. He's got that great ability to run behind defences and scare people to death. In the games he's played for us the opponents centre half has given us a bit more space because they're so scared of his pace.

"That's football though and you can't hide behind the fact that one or two players are missing. Maybe we weren't at full strength but we're a Premier League side and we've got a squad to cope with those situations and we won't be using that as an excuse for losing on Saturday."