Philippe Clement shares positive updates from the international break ahead of Saturday's clash away at Swansea.
Clement started by paying tribute to Michael Wynn-Jones sharing his memories of "how passionate he was about the club" and that Michael and Delia have created "something really special" at the club.
“It's a loss for me, but much more for everybody in the community who knew him for so long and also of course for Delia and all the family."
The head coach provided an injury update on several players, confirming Ben Chrisene is available for selection ahead of Saturday's clash against Swansea City.
"Mo [Touré] had surgery and he will be out until January, around that period. So that's a long time.
"Kenny [McLean] will be out a few more weeks and Ben [Chrisene] will be back. So, he's back training now a few days. So, he's in the selection for tomorrow. That's one thing I can tell you about the selection there.
“Papa Diallo will be out for several more weeks now, but the specialist found out that he has something around muscles that not everybody has and he had an injury there.
The head coach touched on the busy nature of the season prior to the international break but reflected on the positives that came from the three-week break.
“We had these nine games in four weeks, so it's been the busiest schedule that this club ever had at the start of the season.
“Out of these nine games were six away games and not away around the corner, but on the other side of the country, most of them.
“So that cost a lot of energy, clearly and a lot of players were in a kind of overload, and they struggled with things.
“So, a few of them have recovered now and will be available for Swansea. That's a positive thing about that this international period that it was longer than normal.
"It's a little bit too early still for him [Lucien Mahovo] because he's been out a long time, also last season, so we need to manage that really well.
“It looks like after training that Ben [Chrisene] will be in the selection and Lucien not for this game."
Clement shared his confidence in players stepping up in the absence of captain Kenny McLean and top goalscorer Mohammed Touré.
“Last season there were a lot of opportunities because there were a lot of players injured. It's not many until now, but with your captain getting injured and your top scorer getting injured, it gives opportunity for other players.
“I'm fully confident of that also, that those players will step up because those are players who showed really good things in the training sessions or the moments that they played in the games in the last couple of weeks.
“Also in the Brentford friendly, they showed good things. So yeah, I'm fully confident that other people can step up then instead of Kenny.
The Belgian praised Ruairi McConville’s stint with Northern Ireland and shared he encourages players going away for international duties.
"I'm for players going to play for their national team, so I never stop players doing that because I did it myself for 11, 12 years. I know how important it is to to play for your country, for the honour, but also for the experience and with all the young players that we have, it's good that they get experiences like that.
“Ruairi is an important case to show that I'm really happy for him, the way he played. I'm always in contact with all of them.
"So, with Darlin, I was disappointed. He went; he didn't play for them. So, if that happens, then you think afterwards, he could have stayed here, but it's not the case. That's not how the rules work. So, if they are selected, they need to go.
“Yeah, and Mathias' [Kvistgaarden] confidence is good. He's a totally different player than six months ago where he was struggling with his knee at that moment. And the medical staff did a really good job in these past six months to get that problem sorted.
Clement is expecting a test from Swansea tomorrow, but feels helpful lessons were learnt after playing them in the previous season.
"They have invested a lot to get promotion, to get into the playoffs and kept the good things from last season. They took momentum into this season.
“It's a team with a clear identity, clear structure, hard-working players, attacking players working really hard without the ball, pressing, defending, being dangerous on transition.
"They play with one striker but they have two strikers who can score goals. Their top scorer from last season is playing much less now because Adam Idah is having a really good season.
“I know it's a big challenge but it's maybe good also to have a big challenge now. If we can go over that hurdle with the group, that's a big step forward also compared with the last week.