Murphy, Zamora to make welcome returns

Fulham manager Mark Hughes is hoping to have skipper Danny Murphy and star striker Bobby Zamora fit to face Bolton on Wednesday.

The Cottagers will be aiming to claim a win that will guarantee them another season of Premier League football.

Captain Murphy is expected to recover from the dead leg that forced him to come off during the weekend draw at Wolves.

Zamora should also start after being named on the bench as a precaution at Molineux following a minor back and hip injury sustained in training at the end of last week.

Hughes said: “Bobby said he wanted to play but we protected him, especially as he is not long back from a long-term injury. But he made an impact coming on.”

Fulham look safe on 39 points with five games to play, but the players themselves fear there is much work to be done.

“I don’t think you can say you’re safe at any point,” said striker Andy Johnson.

“It’s so tight at the bottom of the table, and there’s still a lot to play for in these last five games.”

“Every year people talk about the 40-point mark, but it might be higher than that this year, because everyone keeps beating everyone else down at the bottom.”

“It’s the closest run-in I’ve ever been involved in come the back-end of a season, so we have to take every game as it comes and try and take what we can from each one.”

“But at the moment I don’t think anyone is safe from 10th downwards, so we’re looking forward to the game against Bolton on Wednesday and then the visit to Sunderland next weekend as chances to secure our safety.”