Reading vs Brentford: Surgery stops son of ex-Super Eagles star – “Frustrating for him”

Brentford striker Kaye Furo has been ruled out of Tuesday's Carabao Cup meeting with Reading after suffering an injury that required surgery, Soccernet.ng reports.

It is a development that has dealt a painful setback to one of the club's most promising young forwards.

Brentford head coach Keith Andrews had planned to start the 19-year-old at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, where the Bees face the League One side at 20:00 BST in the third round.

Instead, Furo underwent an operation on Monday morning.

“Unfortunately for him, he's had to have an operation this morning,” Andrews told reporters ahead of the match.

“The timing of an injury is obviously never good for a player, but I felt he was just coming into a really good place with his game. That's really frustrating for him.

“I would've started him against Reading because I felt he deserved it and was in that type of space. I'm not sure how long he's going to be out for but we'll obviously look after him and get him back to a good place.

“I'm not sure how long he's going to be out for,” Andrews said, “but we'll obviously look after him and get him back to a good place.”

Brentford: A painful setback after a strong start

The injury comes at a particularly difficult point for Furo because he had been building serious momentum with Brentford's Under-21 side.

He scored a hat-trick and supplied an assist in Brentford's 5-1 Premier League 2 win over Sunderland at Wheatsheaf Park on 31 August. The performance came as the young Bees recorded their second victory of the 2026/27 campaign.

That form helped put Furo into Andrews' plans for the Carabao Cup tie.

The striker joined Brentford permanently from Club Brugge in January 2026 on a five-and-a-half-year contract. The club described him at the time as a player with qualities Andrews believed could be developed into a major asset for the first team.

Furo had already experienced senior football in Belgium before moving to England. He made his Club Brugge first-team debut in August 2025 during a 6-0 Champions League qualifying win over Rangers and scored his first Belgian Pro League goal against Sint-Truiden later that year.

He has yet to make his Premier League debut for Brentford, making Tuesday's planned start against Reading an important opportunity that has now disappeared.

The club has not given a recovery date, with Andrews saying he does not yet know how long Furo will be unavailable.

Nigeria connection through former Super Eagles defender

Furo also has a strong Nigerian connection through his father, former Super Eagles defender Iyenemi Furo.

Iyenemi represented Nigeria at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations, making five appearances as the Super Eagles finished runners-up. He was also part of Nigeria's squad at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

The former centre-back played club football in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Greece. His European career included spells with Paris Saint-Germain's reserve side, Waregem, Sion, Royal Antwerp, Akratitos and Servette.

His son has followed a different path. Born in Belgium, Kaye Furo came through the youth systems at Royal Antwerp and Club Brugge. He signed his first professional contract with Club Brugge at 15 and later became a regular scorer for Club NXT in Belgium's second tier.

He scored eight goals in 18 Challenger Pro League appearances during the 2024/25 season before breaking into the Club Brugge senior squad.

Furo is eligible to play for both Belgium and Nigeria and has represented Belgium through several youth levels. His current setback therefore comes just as the 19-year-old was pushing closer to regular senior football in England.