Fulham captain Danny Murphy will return for the club's Europa League clash against CSKA Sofia at Craven Cottage on Thursday night.

The Cottagers currently sit third on the Group E table and need a win to bridge the gap on top-placed FC Basel and second-placed AS Roma.

A major boost for manager Roy Hodgson is the return of Murphy who has been out for six weeks.

"Danny Murphy will start, and it would be nice if he could play the full 90 minutes, but we are realistic," Hodgson said.

"It is a long while since he has played. We might have to accept it does not work out for us over 90 minutes, but that is the plan."

Hodgson said there was still belief that Fulham could qualify for the next stage of the competition despite the fact they are four points behind Basel and two in arrears of Roma.

"We have certainly not given up hope. We are still in with a shout of qualifying," he added.